Pondus Omnium: The Weight of All Things
by NoSignalBlueScreen
Summary: An evil only Clockwork could anticipate is coming. Before the true battle can begin, a huntress becomes an ally, a family is made whole, an imperfection is made perfect, a class takes a field trip, a city is enlightened, a man is redeemed, a monster is saved, and a King is crowned. Canon but No PP. No Phantom Planet. After D-Stabilized. Reveal Story. DxS TxV & others.
1. Eternal Flames

_**An important AN:**_

**I was against having two stories being published and worked on at the same time, but I need to know if this story is enjoyed by others before I pour anymore time into it. I've got close to 100, 000 words for this story already down and that's without editing and such. Okay onwards,**

**Welcome ladies and gentlemen. This is my first ever Danny Phantom Fanfiction and I certainly hope you'll enjoy it! A warm welcome to those here who mostly know me from my Pokemon work. I'm honored that some of you may simply enjoy my writing regardless of fandom. I also welcome any new comers! I used to watch Danny Phantom for a long time and I had enjoyed stories on here before. Now, years later, I'm actually a member on the site and am somewhat confident of my skill as a writer and storyteller and I finally get to do this thing!**

**My idea of a timeline in the Danny Phantom world: I feel that much like the timeline and ages used in Pokemon, Danny Phantom, though not nearly as Paradox-inducing as Pokemon, has a little trouble with chronology as well. So here's how things will be in THIS story.**

**zzz- I AM AWARE OF THE VARIOUS ISSUES THAT ARRISE WITH THIS TIMELINE. THIS IS SIMPLY HOW IT HAS TO BE FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS STORY**

**Danny was fourteen when he had his accident, like the intro song always states. Which for my purposes occurred in the month of September of Danny's Freshman Year.**

**Sam's birthday will be October and Tucker's December**

**Danny turned fifteen the January after (Again the birthdays aren't canon. I decided them)**

**Prisoner's of Love happens in May and soon after that their Freshman year ended**

**He turns Sixteen sometime after a Fright Before Christmas**

**I place Torrent of Terror in November of that year, during the beginning of their Junior year**

**Danny is Seventeen by March which is when I place Urban Jungle**

**Claw of the Wild is then in August of their Senior year followed by D-Stablized in September (Which is Where WE are now in this story)**

**zzz**

**Alright, back to the actual story at hand. This story takes place right after D-Stabilized, like literarily a day or two after. This is MY idea of how the series could have ended. I think Phantom Planet was… okay. I kinda understand that they had to rush to give the show a conclusion before it was cancelled, but there were many things that weren't given the attention they needed. Too many lose ends in my book! So here we are, a different ending that would've most likely spanned several episodes in the show. All the lose ends will be tied. Revelations the right way(not just cameos clapping in the background- I'm looking at you Valerie) with reactions from everyone, Vlad's fate, Dani's, and even… **_**his.**_** Though some of it might surprise you. An evil is coming… that no one but Clockwork could see coming.**

**Let's begin… Oh and Sorry for the Long AN, shouldn't have to happen again :)**

**I do not own or claim Danny Phantom or any other franchises that may be mentioned in this story!**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_They say the subconscious can be more aware than our conscious. It can tell us truths that we don't notice or ones we know somewhere deep down but refuse to admit to ourselves out of fear." _

_~Paraphrased from an Unknown Source._

"_A hero is someone who doesn't ask for change. A hero makes change. A hero doesn't broadcast by choice. A hero is a hidden hand. A hero doesn't die. A hero, once born, lives on forever in the hearts of men. A hero doesn't judge. A hero forgives. A hero doesn't choose who to save. He saves anyone, even those that can't or don't think to ask for help." _

_~ NoSignal_

"_We can't control the actions of others. We can only control our own actions." _

_~Paraphrased from an Unknown Source_

_"Caelum videre iussit, et erectos ad sidera toilere vultus." "He bid them look to the sky and lift their faces to the stars." ~Ovid_

zzz

Valerie Grey was tossing and turning in her sleep. Her face was filled with concentration and purpose. She had stayed up late and the last thing she had been thinking about was her recent run in with the half-ghost Dani Phantom. She had stayed up thinking more and more about what it meant to have met a half-ghost. She knew Vlad was one as well or at least something similar and she was beyond angry that she'd played right into his hand for so long. Her thoughts had eventually strayed to something her enemy, the Ghost Boy, had said to her once during one of their many bouts.

"_Ghosts are just like humans. Some are good and some aren't so good."_

She had tried to systematically apply it to ghosts and half-ghosts she'd seen. The half-ghosts in particular seemed to provide a good example of what Danny Phantom had told her. Some where good, Dani, and some were bad, Vlad. It made sense and it started her down the road of wondering if Danny Phantom was truly the good guy… uh ghost… he'd been saying he was from the get go. Ultimately she had concluded that she was at a dead end with her deducing, because another thing in common between humans and ghosts is that, they could lie. How could she ever know for certain if a ghost could tell the truth without something in it for them? She thought back on Phantom's record and remembered some things he had done that seemingly went against what people considered good, specifically how he'd ruined her life. It made her wonder what was really the truth and a whole other round of circular reasoning would be formed. She had gone to slept at that point and in return she was tossing and turning, as stated before, in the middle of a, soon to be, horrific nightmare.

ººº

She was moving swiftly after him on her board, her thrusters whirring in her ears. It was dark out so not many people were on the streets of Amity or maybe that was just part of the convenience of being in a dream. She fired several crackling laser shots at Phantom, making him dip and dive to avoid them. He seemed to stand out like a target, his white glowing sections of his suit and figure, the exact opposite to the dreamscape around them, outlined him. He was shouting something at her in fear and worry, but she couldn't make out any words. His face was somewhat frantic and he flinched at each movement she made; she wasn't concerned with his false fear though. After all, this was the ghost that had ruined her life. Many people are decidedly one-sided in dreams. A tiny thought echoed in her head, but was easily smothered.

_What does it mean if something__… __can feel__… __pain? Does pain make them sentient? Animals can__'__t speak for themselves__… __What was the difference? Where is the line drawn?_

Something seemed to grab Phantom's attention from her for only a moment and that's all it took. Her shot whizzed through the air, small shockwaves of energy echoing from it, and struck him in the back, ripping and burning through his hazmat suit and ectoplasmic body and causing some shimmering green ectoplasm to bubble and drip through the wound now there. He yelled out in muted pain and fell to the hard pavement. He silently cried out with no voice of his own and convulsed on the ground as he was electrocuted by the aftershocks of her special lasers.

_Maybe it was one of those metaphorical type dreams…_

She jerked a bit when he went limp and his eyes slid closed in unconsciousness. He was a bit bloodied or well… ectoplasmed from the wound on his back and from the fall from what she could see from above. Her eyes widened slightly in fear and confusion when a blinding white flash obscured her vision. When she reopened her eyes to look back down at her prey, her scream tore through the dreamscape.

ººº

Valerie had never been one to wake from nightmares violently; she simply didn't scare easy. Today was an exception though. She jerked so hard when she woke that she almost ended up out of her bed and on the floor, since she had moved in her sleep to the far side. She hurriedly got up, still in a panic, and made her way to the bathroom. After splashing her face a few times with sparkling cold water, she stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't get rid of the terror though, nor the picture still fresh on the back of her eyelids. For when that flash in her dream had disappeared, the one she had gunned down hadn't been Danny Phantom… It had been Danny Fenton.

zzz

The warning bell rang in the hallway as Danny finished his third attempt to open his locker.

Tucker, the techno geek, meat connoisseur of Amity and Danny's best guy friend, was blabbing to Sam about something excitedly. He was wearing his traditional cargo pants, yellow long sleeve shirt, hiking boots and beret. Just yesterday he'd gotten his contacts in so his glasses were absent from his face.

"I mean eight different kinds, Sam! I know you don't like meat, but still you have to be a tiny bit impressed," Tucker spoke and gave a semi-triumphant smirk.

Sam, the ultra-recyclovegitarian, goth, and girl that likes Danny but won't amit- **Tucker stop hacking into my computer and using my keyboard!**

**Tucker: So uncool! Fine… **

**Anyways...**

Sam, the ultra recyclo-vegetarian, goth and Danny's best girl friend, gave Tucker an unamused glare. She was wearing a plain black shirt of hers, her black and green skirt, purple leggings and combat boots. She had her hair in it's normal fashion except she'd lowered her ponytail a bit. Tucker's smirk started to disappear as she replied to him.

"I just find it gross. Can't you see you're slowly killing yourself by eating that garbage? Not the meat, I understand some people like it even if humans don't need it, but with all that grease!? And that kind of excess?!" Sam shook her head and sighed disappointedly.

"Maybe it could be slowly killing me, but at least it tastes good and a life is only a life if it's worth living!" Tucker exclaimed.

Sam shook her head yet again. Both friends flinched when they heard a bang and looked at Danny, who was busy banging his head against his locker. Danny had on a green long sleeved shirt, to hide some of the newest scars he had on his arms, his jeans and his sneakers. He'd let his hair grow out some and the hair at the nape of his neck was a bit longer than it had been in recent years.

"You okay dude?" Tucker asked with a frown.

"We need to hurry, Danny. We're going to be late for English with Mr. Lancer," Sam said with a bit of impatience.

"Can't get my stupid locker open," Danny groaned and looked left and right down the hallway to see no one there. He let a tiny smile come to his face and he slid his had through the locker with intangibility and grinned triumphantly when he fished out his book. "Gotcha!"

"Normally I'd scold you for using your powers like that, but I really don't want another detention. Let's get going. We've got like-" Sam started just as the late bell rang, "No time left." She deadpanned.

The three teens sighed and wandered towards the classroom. As soon as they walked in, Lancer spotted them.

"Explanation for your tardiness, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Foley, Mrs. Manson?" Lancer drawled.

"I um… got my backpack stuck in my locker. It was my fault, Mr. Lancer. Sam and Tuck were just trying to help," Danny rambled out an excuse with hesitant if not practiced ease.

"Hmmm… I suppose. Honestly I just don't want to even bother today. Sit down and get ready to take some notes. I'm going to assume everyone has finished the last few chapters I assigned?"

As Danny, Sam, and Tucker got to their seats, Mr. Lancer received a mixture of confident and hesitant nods from his class. The teacher let out a sigh and turned to the board. He grabbed a piece of chalk and started to write.

zzz

The day went on as normal until Lunch. Danny, Sam, and Tucker had gotten their bag lunches from their lockers since they'd sworn off eating the Cafeteria food after an incident last week. Let's just say that Danny had flown through one of the refrigerators on accident during a ghost fight and had been horrified at the kind of stuff they made the lunches with. Yep they were certainly never eating that food again.

"I mean seriously, Oatmeal isn't that expensive or involved! It's even not got meat in it!" Sam expressed in an exasperated tone.

"Why you subject yourself to that kind of torture… I'll never know."

"Just drop it, Tucker."

Danny was tuning out their meat versus veggies argument that almost always appeared even if only briefly, every day. Sam was leaning slightly on Danny, though he didn't seem to notice, and Tucker was leaning on the table to get a good view of Sam as they talked. They had all ended up eating on the same side of their lunch table that day.

Danny glanced across the lunch room and saw Valerie had been staring at him. He cocked his head in confusion at her and saw her look away nervously. He glanced behind himself to see if she'd been looking at someone else and when he looked back, she was walking out the the room.

"Huh."

At Danny's voice, Tucker and Sam snapped out of their debate immediately and looked at their best friend.

"What?" Sam asked and tried to look and see what Danny had been looking at.

"Well it's just- AAGGH!" Danny yelped before he found his face inches from Dash's. Sam and Tucker had jumped a bit in surprise at the suddenness before a deep frown replaced the grimace on Sam's face. Tucker didn't look as hostile as Sam and tried to feint nervousness, but Tucker never liked it when his best buddy got picked on. The two were like brothers.

Truth be told, not much truly scared Danny, Sam, or Tucker anymore. They had to pretend for the most part to act out what was was expected of them. They hadn't noticed the difference in themselves until more recently, but had decided it was yet something else they needed to hide. Before Ghost hunting, Tucker would've been frightened around Dash, but now he was irritated with him for messing with Danny. Sam could behave mostly the same as she always had since she'd been pretty fearless from the get go. And Danny well…

"Hey Fentonia! Did ya think I'd forgotten about ya today?" Dash taunted as heads poked up from their tables to watch the show that seemed to always come with their lunch. Though the trio was on the lower end of the popularity ladder, they were some of the most fascinating people in the school. A good portion of the students at Casper wanted to figure out why the three of them always seemed to be so secretive, that and it was a show anytime Danny and Dash butted heads; sometimes Danny would even fight back, though not physically, and those were the most interesting to watch.

"Of course not, Dash," Danny sighed in irritation and tried to shift a bit while dangling in the air by his t-shirt front. Danny was too tall now for Dash to put him in the lockers. Swirlies and humiliation were still options, at least ones that caused Danny discomfort. Dash's punches had stopped hurting half as bad when Danny had received his powers and over time the initial pain and lasting pain from Dash's fists had lessened each year since then. At this point they felt no worse than a pinch.

"Tch, you sound bored," Dash growled.

Danny cocked an eyebrow, "You do the same thing every- single- day. How can I not be?"

"You're going to regret that, Fenturd!"

Danny actually gulped slightly at that and the look in Dash's eyes. _Me and my big mouth._

zzz

"Do you see anybody?!"

"Uh, I kinda don't have the bird's eye view like you do, dude."

"Aw come on, Tuck!"

"No one here, but you need to check around first!"

Sam and Tucker watched a bit anxiously and diligently as Danny looked around from his position on the flag pole. Dash had hoisted the young Fenton by his boxers, to the very top. Most would've probably been afraid of breaking something or even possible death from that height, but Danny was just annoyed at his… uncomfortable snag. He turned invisible and then intangible before appearing next to his friends on the ground and shifting his jeans with a frown.

"He still couldn't think of something original, even after I practically dared him," Danny mused and then let out a laugh of annoyance.

"Just shows how idiotic he is," Sam said with a shrug.

"Well two more class periods for the day, then we can go to the Nasty Burger and I can try that eight meat wonder!" Tucker declared excitedly, as the three headed back for the school entrance.

"We have to go on patrol tonight. Don't forget, guys," Danny added. He reached back without looking, automatically knowing Sam was about to pass his backpack to him since she had held it for him once Dash had shown up.

"Yeah, we know." They both replied with Sam nodding and Tucker glued to his PDA at the moment.

With everything the trio had been through, they'd developed a pretty deep bond for teens their age. They knew each other's greatest fears, their mannerisms, their tendencies, and for Danny and Sam, they were so in sync that they tended to finish each other's sentences, something Tucker often teased them for.

Tucker suddenly grinned and popped his head up from his PDA, "I remembered something! It's going to be my birthday in a few months!"

Sam face palmed and Danny perked up.

"Huh, oh yeah," Danny replied and gave a shake of his head and let out a slightly bitter laugh, "So busy I can't even remember my friend's own birthday."

"You hardly remembered your own birthday earlier this year. That's what we're here for, dude," Tucker grinned and threw an arm around Danny's shoulders.

"I'm going to be eighteen first you know, because I'm the eldest of the group," Sam smirked and soon threw her arm over Danny's shoulders as well.

"Aw geez Sam. Way to deflate my excitement," Tucker pouted.

Danny laughed lightly at his two friends, "Thanks guys." As the three friends continued walking with their arms around each other's shoulders, Sam asked a question.

"By the way, what _were_ you going to say at lunch? You know, before Dash grabbed you?"

Danny frowned, "It was weird… Valerie was like staring at me, but she looked so sad and then she left the lunch room after she noticed I'd seen her."

"Huh, maybe she saw Dash stalking up to ya and pitied you," Tucker suggested jokingly, before Sam elbowed him in the gut hard.

"Valerie's not _that_ sympathetic, even for people, going by our run-ins with her," Sam grumbled and then looked at Danny, "Could you give me a better idea of what you felt she was feeling?"

Danny sighed, "By the look in her eyes, it was almost like… she was ashamed of something."

"You… you don't think?" Tucker suddenly stopped walking and the other two turned to face him once they'd let their arms fall.

"What, Tuck?" Danny asked.

"You don't think she figured out you're Phantom, do you?" Tucker asked in response.

Danny and Sam's eyes grew as large as dinner plates.

"Oh God. You think she could've? But how?!" Danny asked, starting to hyperventilate and freak out.

"Whoa let's calm down, Danny. We don't know for certain," Sam soothed and put a hand back on his shoulder, which seemed to calm him some; his breathing even slowed. Danny had always been an anxious person and the one thing that she and Tuck had noticed over time, especially after the lab accident that gave him his ghost powers, was that he calmed easier with human contact. Jazz had even stated that perhaps his half-ghost existence gave him that same need to have physical contact since he'd phased out of his friends' grip after the accident in the lab. Though Danny was level-headed in battle and a good leader under pressure, Sam and Tuck both knew what things could break his psyche down and the threat of his secret being found out before he was ready or with bad consequences was one of them. "Let's just keep going about our business like nothing's happened. If she _does_ know, then she'll probably come and talk to you at some point."

"Yeah I mean, I don't think Valerie would rat you out or anything if she found out," Tucker added confidently, as they resumed their walk to the class. "I mean most people would think she was nuts, right?"

"Unless mom would feel like doing a test or two to _be safe_," Danny sighed. Sam and Tucker gave Danny a slightly worried and sympathetic look and hurried to catch up.

zzz

After the trio had finished school for the day, they'd gone to the Nasty Burger to fulfill Tucker's wishes and of course do what teenagers do and hangout.

"That's just… ew." Sam mumbled as she watched Tucker stuff his face with the eight meat wonder. She had finished her salad long ago and Danny was also actually grossed out by Tucker's eating. Sam looked over at Danny's plate which had some chicken strips and a salad on it. Trying to fight the smile coming to her face from the fact that she'd noticed him trying more and more to eat vegetables around her, she noticed he'd not eaten much. "Danny, you need to eat more. Remember what Clockwork said not too long ago about your genetic make-up? You have to eat more than normal people or your ghost half will start sucking out people's emotions to feed itself."

Danny looked at her and frowned sheepishly, "Yeah, yeah I know… I just. I guess I'm not that hungry. I can't stop worrying about Valerie… What if… what if she really does rat me out? Who knows what could happen? Everyone might run me out of town! The GiW would be out for my head more than they already are!"

Sam sighed in sympathy for her friend and placed a hand on his, "We won't let that happen. I really don't think you'd be run out of town either. Remember how proud you're parents were of you before you took their memories away with the Reality Gauntlet?"

"Yeah yeah… but what if… I mean it could only take the _wrong way_ for them to find out for it to turn out differently."

Both Danny and Sam turned to face Tucker when they heard him snorting and trying to contain laughter.

"Sorry if I interrupted something," Tucker giggled and motioned to their hands. Sam's was still resting on top of Danny's. She jerked away in embarrassment and Danny hurriedly slid his into his lap, while both friends gave Tucker a glare.

"Love birds."

"WE AREN'T LOVEBIRDS!"

The talk was halted when a fine blue mist came from Danny's open mouth. The atmosphere began to change and other people in the restaurant started to get nervous.

"Ghost Child!" Skulker's voice boomed from outside.

Danny sighed, "It's always too much to expect a normal day." With that he got up and ran to the restroom.

Sam and Tucker looked at each other before glancing outside after someone announced that Danny Phantom had arrived. The two friends left some money for their meal and ran outside with their game faces on.

They saw Skulker looking down on Danny.

"Today, your pelt will lay at the foot of my bed!" Skulker declared with his arms wide, trying to look intimidating.

Danny was floating idly in front of him when he shook his head, making his white hair flutter a bit, "I don't think I'll ever get used to how disturbing that threat is. Yikes!" Danny yelped as a green energy blast from Skulker's gun flew under him after the teen had dodged upwards by doing the splits.

"Pay more attention, Ghost Child, else this hunt will be much too easy," Skulker grinned.

Danny frowned as a more serious demeanor came over him. People from the restaurant below started to peek out of the windows and front door to get a better look at the Ghost Hero fighting. By now, most people really liked Danny Phantom and trusted him. There were still a few that were suspicious or even rude, but Danny simply tried to be neutral with them.

"Who said anything about easy?" Danny spoke calmly with only a smirk on his face and then vanished. Skulker brought an ecto-scanner to his eye and started to look around for Danny's invisible form. He caught sight of it right before he received a eco-powered kick to the gut.

"Gah!" Skulker cried out and crashed into the ground, cracking the parking lot asphalt in a circle around him and sending up a small cloud of dust.

"Don't tell me you've had enough already Skulker!?" Danny shouted. After a moment of silence and waiting for the dust to settle, Danny cocked one eyebrow. Suddenly a whip of energy shot from the dust cloud and wrapped around Danny's ankle. Almost immediately the whip lit up with electricity.

"AAAAAaaaHHH!" Danny screamed in pain and thrashed in the air. He pulled his head up, going against the compulsion to arch his back from the electricity traveling through him, and shot Skulker in the chest with ice rays from his eyes. Skulker's form froze over and the whip's energy fizzled out since the circuit was cut off. Then the whip slid off Danny's ankle.

Danny smirked and went to grab the Fenton Thermos on his back when it was shot from his hand and went spinning through the air, making a clunk noise when it hit the ground.

"Not yet," Skulker growled, "I said _today_ you will hang on my wall and I meant it." Before Danny could react Skulker shot a spider web of ectoplasmic goo at him and plastered him to a nearby building. Danny heard a few people gasp and some started talking worriedly. He briefly saw, form the corner of his eye, Sam shove Tucker out into going after the Thermos, while she ran up with a Wrist Ray pointed at Skulker and began to fire. Skulker turned and aimed at her in return. Danny gasped an made a snap decision to use his Ghostly Wail since his ice rays weren't damaging Skulker enough at the moment and his mouth was the only other thing free. He took a deep breath of air just as Skulker whipped around and shot another glob of goo at him. "Oh no you don't!" The hunter snarled.

"Mmph!" Danny grunted from the impact and found the new goo plastered over his mouth. He strained against the goo around his chest and arms and tried to pull up his legs to no avail. His eyes widened when Skulker turned back around and aimed at Sam and Tucker.

"Let Danny Phantom go!" Sam shouted. She and Tucker both tried not to call him just Danny when he was in his Phantom persona in public, especially the times they jumped in to help hunt the ghosts.

"Afraid I can't do that. As for you two, I can't have you trying to come after us," Skulker grinned and charged up his gun. Sam did the same with hers as Tucker started typing furiously on his PDA.

"Tucker! Can't you hack into his suit any faster!?" Sam yelled and glanced up at her struggling friend. Danny was still trying to wrestle out of his bindings.

"Scarlett and I are working as fast as we can, Sam!" Tucker yelped as his fingers flew across the keys. He had a looked of concentration on his face and his tongue was starting to stick out slightly from the side of his mouth.

Skulker growled when he heard that and fired. Sam fired at the same time; the two blasts collided in midair and exploded, forcing Sam onto her rear and sending Tucker to his stomach, making his PDA fumble from his grasp.

"The geeks are gonna get wasted!" Dash yelled from somewhere in the crowd. Kwan had come with him to the Nasty Burger like most high schoolers did after school.

Skulker smiled calmly and started powering up his gun again to aim at Sam and Tucker while Danny thrashed more fiercely in his bonds. Skulker suddenly faltered when a wave of heat radiated from Danny's direction. Everyone turned and saw waves of heat pulsing from Danny Phantom's form.

_He could feel a warmth and then a fierce burning, igniting his chest as his anger grew. Skulker was attacking his best friends. It was __him__ he wanted! There was no reason for Skulker to attack them! He felt the intense burning spread out from his chest to the rest of his body and then he opened his eyes…_

Danny's eyes turned a bright orange-yellow and pure orange ghost flames with white outlines started igniting on the goo, making it start to melt.

"Danny?" Sam whispered under her breath.

Danny was suddenly freed and was glaring at Skulker. He shot forwards as the same ghostly orange and white flames erupted around his form, turning Phantom into something of a comet. Skulker was so surprised, that he didn't even budge until Danny crashed into him. His metal suit started to melt and screech, before Skulker activated his jet pack and flew up to get out of the way of Danny's path. Danny immediately started to lose altitude and he crashed into the ground with such force that it dug a track in the street. The flames died down and Phantom laid limply in the crater. The right side of Skulker's face and chest was now partially melted due to Danny's attack.

Sam was terrified that Danny would revert to Fenton right then and there. Danny _had_ been trying to practice not reverting forms while asleep or unconscious, but she was hoping that all the work they'd done recently in training would be enough.

"Hey Spook!"

Sam was halfway to Danny with Tucker still typing furiously on his PDA when they heard a familiar voice. They whipped around and saw Valerie, as the Red Huntress, hovering in front of Skulker on her board.

"I have no time for you right now, Huntress. Phantom is almost mine," Skulker growled and started heading towards Danny, Sam and Tucker. Valerie seemed to freeze when she caught sight of Phantom lying still in the ditch ahead. The visage of her dream came to the forefront of her mind and she did something she never thought she would do. She fired at Skulker, causing him to falter in the air and strike the ground; his jet pack was damaged and smoking now.

_Why would I do that? Am I protecting Phantom? Focus Val, focus. It was just a dream. A very disturbing, but irrational dream._

Valerie realized though that she was going to handle Skulker first, regardless. "Don't turn your back on me, scum!"

Skulker grumbled in annoyance and pulled out a large bazooka from seemingly nowhere. "I WILL have his pelt this time! You will NOT interfere."

Sam took a glance back at Danny and saw he was panting heavily. She ran closer as Tucker continued to watch Valerie and Skulker face off. She reached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, flinching and pulling back slightly in surprise. He was burning up. Danny's temperature was on the low side compared to humans, but warm for ghosts. This fever, if you could call it that, was high for even normal human standards.

"Tucker!" Sam hissed quietly and got the techno geek's attention. "Danny is not looking good. We need to make a tactical retreat."

Tucker nodded and furrowed his brows before continuing to work on his PDA.

"If I can just hack through this last firewall, then I can access Skulker's weaponry. I think he carries a smoke screen. It would be the perfect way to slip away with 'Phantom' on our shoulders."

"Hurry then!"

"Okay okay, geez!" Tucker worked for what seemed to be another couple minutes before a grin split his face. "I'm the greatest!" Tucker looked up and clicked a button.

Skulker suddenly froze and his arm shot up above his head against his will, stiffly, holding a grenade-like device.

"What in the name of the Infinite Realms!?" Skulker yelled out in frustration as the device opened slightly, letting a dense white fog pour out and cover the area. Valerie and the crowds started to cough, while everyone's, including Skulker's, vision was obscured.

Sam and Tucker lifted Danny onto their backs and took off into a nearby alleyway.

"Danny feels like he sat in a sauna for several minutes too many," Tucker expressed half-jokingly and continued to wheeze as they hurried along.

"Not the time for joking, Tucker. When we get far enough away, we need to call Jazz. Remember Danny said that she's on a research oriented break from College? She can bring the Fenton RV and we can find a safe place to figure out what's wrong with Danny."

"That was so cool! Does this mean Danny can use fire powers or something now?" Tucker said excitedly.

"Who knows, but we need to focus on getting him better right now," Sam returned.

They got deep enough into the maze of alleyways for Tucker to slip out from holding Danny and grab Sam's phone from her while she continued to support their friend.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello, Jazz?" Tucker asked after Jazz's voice had answered.

"_Tucker? What are you doing with Sam's phone?"_

"It's Danny. Something's happened an-"

"_What!? Danny!? What happened!? Is he okay!?"_

"Yeah yeah, he's fine… I think. Look, we need you to come and pick us up in the RV. Danny's still out of it and it wouldn't be safe in his uhhh… condition to go to FentonWorks."

"_Okay okay, I'll be right there."_

"Have the coordinates… now?" Tucker asked and clicked a button on his PDA.

"_Yep! They just showed up on the RV's GPS. On my way!"_

Tucker then hung up.

"She coming?"

"Yeah… how's Danny?"

Sam glanced down at her friend and saw he was still unconscious, panting with sweat creating a sheen over his pale skin.

"Who would've guessed even ghost sweat glows a bit?" Tucker joshed, but silenced himself after a glare from Sam came his way.

"I wonder what made this happen? Does a half ghost just suddenly pick up another power randomly like that?" Sam mused.

"I don't know… maybe we could go visit Clockwork if Danny doesn't get better soon," Tucker suggested, just as they heard Jazz pull up next to the alleyway in the RV. Sam and Tucker got Danny on their shoulders again and got into the RV as Jazz started to drive.

"So what happened?" Jazz asked, barely taking her gaze from the road to only cast a glance in the mirror back at them. She was wearing her normal clothing though that day she had on a red hair ribbon.

"We think Danny unlocked another power or something. At the moment though, he's just really hot. He has a fever that's high for normal human standards which is bad since you know Danny's normal body temp is around eighty-nine to ninety," Sam explained.

"Wait… did he use Pyrokinesis or something?" Jazz asked.

"It… it seemed that way," Sam replied hesitantly, "We're considering going to see Clockwork if Danny can't pull out of it soo-"

"Mmm…" Danny groaned and arched his back slightly. A white ring of energy and light appeared around his waist and he suddenly transformed into his human form. His body relaxed again and he continued to shiver from the fever in his sleep.

"He… he transformed while unconscious?" Tucker asked and quirked an eyebrow.

"Huh, maybe that bit of practice helped some," Jazz suggested as they got closer to the Fenton's home.

"Jazz, It might be dangerous to go to your house," Tucker spoke up.

"I think we should take the Specter Speeder to Clockwork's. A high fever can damage the human body severely. This isn't something we should use the 'wait and see' tactic for." Jazz answered when she'd reached the driveway and parked, "Besides, Mom and Dad are out looking for that ghost Danny was fighting, Skulker, right?"

"Okay you have a point," Tucker nodded.

Sam glanced down at Danny's form and gripped his shoulder. She leaned down a bit after Tucker and Jazz had started getting out. "Just keep fighting a little longer, Danny."

zzz

A few moments later, they were floating through the Ghost Zone. It's green swirling atmosphere was constantly alight with energy and dotted with various doors to ghosts' lairs. Tucker was the one driving the Speeder, since he was more familiar with the layout of the known parts of the Ghost Zone than Jazz. Jazz and Sam were tending to Danny in the meantime. They had retrieved one of the First Aid kits from one of the Specter Speeder's compartments.

"Hundred and one," Jazz said worriedly as she pulled the thermometer from Danny's mouth.

"Dude! That's like twelve points above normal! If he was an average human he'd be dea… dead," Tucker finished lamely. Sam and Jazz's faces were deadpan. "You know what I mean!" Tucker grumbled in frustration.

"Yeah yeah," Sam answered and looked back down at Danny's trembling form with a frown.

ººº

Danny felt like his body was on fire. The only thing in recent memory he could think off equating to this pain was when he had walked into the non-working Fenton Portal the very first time. He shivered, on his hands and knees in the dark void that was around him.

_I'm still here… Your time is up… Ten years… me._

He could hear horrid laughter, echoing off of some invisible objects and into his ears. Danny went to clutch his head and froze in horror. The tips of his fingers didn't touch white hair, but open flames… white… glowing flames licking from between his fingers. He did the first thing that his body insisted and screamed at the top of his lungs.

_I'm still here… You… promised?_

The voice seemed to fade a bit at the end before the nightmare ended.

ººº

"He won't stop thrashing!" Sam yelled as Danny started to pull against her and Jazz's best efforts to keep him still. Danny was quite strong now, encroaching eighteen and finally starting to gain a bit of muscle. In fact, all of the teens were starting to develop more now that they were on the upper half of the teens age scale… that and they fought ghosts so often. Then again even if Danny hadn't ever developed at all, he would still have ghost powers and super strength. If they didn't get to Clockwork soon, then he would get out of their grasp and hurt himself, no question.

"I can see his tower!" Tucker yelped.

Tucker halted the vehicle in front of the tower as Jazz and Sam started carrying Danny. Before they could even approach the door, Clockwork flashed into view in front of them.

"Here," Clockwork spoke and pulled Danny from the girls and into his arms, "Follow me." He turned and the doors opened on their own allowing them all inside.

After climbing the clock tower to it's main chamber, Clockwork carefully placed Danny on a stone ledge, letting it act as a bed. The clocks' ticks and the noises from the cogs in the large room were the only sounds until Sam spoke up.

"Clockwork, what's happened to him?" Sam asked.

Clockwork held up a hand and walked over to a table with various objects on it. He picked one up which had the appearance of a frisbee. It was made of metal with a blue stone material of some sorts, making up most of the center. He floated back over to Danny and placed the device on the young halfa's chest. Something clicked and the blue stone in the center started to glow.

"Now I can answer questions. That device is very effective against all ghostly flames or ecto-generated heat. It's cooling his body temperature as we speak," Clockwork explained.

"What happened?" Tucker asked, parroting Sam's previous question.

"Danny has unlocked yet another ability, Pyrokinesis."

"How'd he manage that?" Jazz asked, "It was kinda random and sudden."

Clockwork changed into his old man form, "His Cyrokinesis came to him almost as sudden, did it not?"

"That's true," Sam nodded, "Did something trigger it though?"

Clockwork nodded, "The elemental abilities of ghosts tends to reflect either their personality or the way they died. However, Danny is somewhat of a special case, not only because he is only _half_ ghost, but also for other reasons that aren't easy to explain to you yet. In this case, Danny's anger towards Skulker for attacking you both was the final crack that broke the dam holding back this power inside him."

"Wait, Danny's emotions and attributes can alter his abilities?" Jazz asked with a slightly troubled look on her face.

"They did when he received Vortex's powers for a time, did they not? Let me put it this way, there are other ghosts that can learn more than one elemental power, but most master only one, the others being not ever as powerful. Danny's humanity and all it's emotions, not just the ones that full ghosts tend to obsess over, effect how his powers work."

"Wait! So because Ghosts can feel all emotions, but most are focused on one or two because of their deaths or obsessions, they can only master one elemental power, but because of Danny's humanity he can master more than one since he still has_ full _access to _all_ of his emotions?" Sam asked.

"Yes, there's a bit more to it, but as I said, I can't easily explain that to you at this time," Clockwork replied.

"So… can Danny only use his Pyrokinesis when he's angry?" Tucker questioned.

"At the moment, most likely, but the masters of Pyrokinesis who are righteous in the Ghost Zone use other methods, such as drawing on ambition or fighting spirit to bring forth the eternal flames within."

"How can Danny feel alright and control this in time for school tomorrow?" Jazz said in a bit of a panic.

"Clockwork?" Tucker asked, expecting help.

Clockwork frowned, "I can't give direct instructions to alter your choices… only info to an extent. However… don't humans get fevers too?"

Sam looked at the ghost as he shifted into his child form. An idea clicked in her head, "Wait! If we can get Danny to a temperature that would be manageable and still convince Mr. and Mrs. Fenton that Danny needs to stay home from school tomorrow, then we can wait until they're out to take him back here and see how he can control this new power! We could come super early, help him here quick and be back at school before we're missed."

Clockwork, still in his baby form, smiled mischievously at Sam using his hint so well.

"Can you get Danny to where he needs to be if we can get him to you tomorrow morning super early?" Jazz asked Clockwork.

Clockwork nodded, "That I can do. After all, even as Father Time, I still can act out my own parts in the Play of the Ages. I know a good friend that could aid him with this new power."

"Thanks Clockwork," Sam sighed.

Clockwork merely nodded and turned to look at Danny expectantly as his baby-blue eyes slowly opened and a groan left his throat.

"What hit me?"

"The ground dude. You plowed into the street like a meteorite," Tucker exclaimed.

Danny let his head roll over and he glanced down at some of the visible scraps on his hands, most of the other damage would be hidden by his human clothes after transforming. He glanced around and realized where they were, "How'd we get… here?"

"We thought Clockwork was the only person who could help. Do you remember what you did?" Jazz asked her little brother.

Danny was silent for a second, obviously still coming out of his sleep, when suddenly his eyes shot open and he leaned up swiftly. "I didn't hurt anybody, did I? Oh God I didn't, right?"

Sam saw the almost invisible and speedy glance Danny made towards the ghost shield containing a certain thermos at the other end of the room.

"No Danny, you didn't hurt anyone at all," Sam soothed and started to walk closer with the other two.

"Except melt a bit of Skulker's suit. Man he's gonna be repairing that for weeks!" Tucker grinned.

"Melt?" Danny asked.

The three other teens glanced at each other before Clockwork spoke.

"It appears as though you've unlocked Pyrokinesis, Daniel. Congratulations."

Danny seemed shocked and listened closely as Clockwork repeated what he'd told Sam, Tucker, and Jazz and Sam repeated their plan for tomorrow morning. After they finished that talk, Danny sighed and relaxed. His cheeks were still rosy from his still warm body but he was no longer sweating.

"Another ten minutes or so and you can go home until morning. I can also remove the Cyrodisc from your chest. It uses a certain type of energy to 'magnetize' itself to a ghost's core to help cool it." Clockwork expressed as he switched into his middle-aged form.

"Huh, I saw some of these at Frostbite's once. I always thought they were frisbees or something, heh," Danny laughed nervously.

"You're such a dork," Sam snorted and cuffed him in the head playfully as she sat near the head of his temporary bed. Tucker and Jazz then went to sit at his feet why they waited.

The four friends waited until Clockwork was able to take off the Cyrodisc and send Team Phantom on their way. Danny hesitantly used Jazz for support until he was seated in the Specter Speeder.

"Farewell, I shall see you all early tomorrow," Clockwork nodded after the others returned with their own words of parting. Clockwork then vanished after turning into his old man form, no doubt returning to his constant vigil over Time.

Tucker got at the wheel again and soon they were heading back to the human world at a nice clip. On the ride back, Danny was staring out of the window quietly. Sam was sitting closest to him and could see his deep frown in the reflection of the window.

"Danny, what's wrong?" She asked quietly.

He seemed to flinch at her question before he shook his head solemnly and gave her what she knew was one of his false smiles, the ones he used to lie about how he was feeling or whether he was hurt.

"Just thinking about… my new power. I wonder what I can do with it."

It wasn't really a question as one would expect, more like an empty sentence. She knew there was more to what he was thinking about.

"I bet something good, like you _almost_ always do," Sam replied calmly and with a small smirk, trying to make him laugh about the few pranks and things he'd done with his powers, but more importantly reminding him of his service to Amity on an almost daily basis. He didn't seem to reply though. Though still worried for him and knowing he was not happy, she decided to leave him alone. She _almost_ didn't hear him answer her in a soft whisper filled with worry.

"I hope so…"

**zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**

**Okay so I only have two small questions. **

**How would you like me to refer to Danny when he's in Phantom form and fighting in public? Would you like me to call him Phantom, or would Danny be fine at all times so long as there is some indication at the beginning of a fight or segment that he's in Phantom form?**

**Finally, What do you think so far? I suppose I should wait for more accurate responses after I post a couple more chapters, once I edit them. I am trying to figure out if people like it enough for me to continue.**

**Alright that's all, thanks for reading and bothering with my blabbering. See you next chap- ****GHOST!**

**I'LL GET THE FENTON GHOST FISHER!**

**~NoSignal**


	2. A Huntress Becomes an Ally

**So here we are, the next chapter!**

**I hope you enjoy this one like the last.**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

_"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." ~Gloria Steinem_

zzz

Team Phantom got back home from Clockwork's lair and helped Danny onto the couch. He was still warm for a ghost, but only a degree or two above normal for a human. He was slowly cooling further, but it would take awhile. The teens got their plan together just as Mr. and Mrs. Fenton walked in the front door.

"Jazz, Danny we're home!" Maddie called out as she and Jack moved into the living room, both wearing their jumpsuits. Jack rushed into the kitchen, muttering something about fudge, while Maddie froze when she saw Danny laying on the couch with Sam holding a cold rag on his head and Tucker and Jazz sitting nearby talking casually.

"Danny are you alright?" Maddie asked and walked forward before looking up at the others, "What happened?"

"He's been feeling bad today, mom. We brought him here after school. He has a slight fever," Jazz spoke up.

Maddie nodded and gave a Danny a pitying look, "My poor baby boy."

Danny groaned at her nickname for him and slapped a hand over his eyes, while Sam and Tucker tried to stifle their giggles.

"Well you probably need to stay home tomorrow then," Maddie sighed and put her hands on her hips.

Jack popped halfway out from the kitchen with fudge smeared about his mouth, "Danny-boy's staying home tomorrow?"

"Yes, Jack," Maddie smiled brightly back at her husband.

"Well I hope you get to feeling better, son!" Jack bellowed before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Danny couldn't stop the smile that came to his face against his will. No matter what, he'd always love his parents; they were good parents even if they were weird and a bit oblivious.

Eventually Sam and Tucker said goodbye for the day and left, promising to come early tomorrow when Maddie and Jack wouldn't see them. Luckily Jazz knew that her mom and dad were going for a meeting tomorrow at Axion Labs for the day. Recently, FentonWorks and Axion Labs had started really trying to make much stronger connections between one another in their attempts to study ghosts and protect Amity from ghosts as well. After Sam and Tucker had left, Jazz stood up and turned to Danny now that their parents had gone down into the lab.

"I'm going to fix you some soup," Jazz nodded.

"Jazz, you do realize I'm not really sick, right? Just really really hot," Danny huffed.

"Hmmm… Maybe some cold soup then? Some Gazpacho?" Jazz smiled.

Danny shook his head in amusement, "Whatever."

Jazz laughed happily and went into the kitchen. Danny sighed and threw an arm over his eyes. He could feel his temperature lowering ever so slowly.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day," Danny murmured.

zzz

When next day came, Maddie was reluctant to leave Danny at home alone, but he assured her that he'd call Jazz if he needed anything. After Maddie and Jack had left for Axion Labs, Sam and Tucker arrived and helped Jazz get Danny into the Spector Speeder. Jazz stayed behind to keep watch, just incase their parents made a surprise return visit.

The trio traveled through the Ghost Zone and eventually arrived at Clockwork's. After talking for a brief while, dropping Danny off and saying goodbye, they left for the Human World to head to school. Jazz was heading to the library for research purposes but would be going to Casper High to get Danny's make up work later.

zzz

Danny listened carefully to Clockwork as the two moved towards the main viewing room in the tower. Danny looked up to Clockwork immensely. Though he was always indirect in how he helped, Danny had come to accept and understand why Clockwork did things the way he did. If anything, Clockwork was glad at how much trust Danny put in him. The ghost of time was used to people hating him and blaming him for all kinds of things, even cursing him when he wouldn't help. To have someone understand why things couldn't always be fixed magically and perfectly, was… a kind of relief to the old ghost. From his knowledge of everything time related, Clockwork knew Danny didn't just trust him because of Clockwork's actions and involvement with saving his family. Danny understood Clockwork's job, the good and the bad.

"You won't easily come to understand your Pyroknesis in one day, but you will be able to contain it in your core and switch between the cold and hot cores you possess. Being able to control the heat and switch back to a cold core will be the most important thing to keep your identity hidden. Then once you have this kind of control, you can come here whenever you wish to practice some of the finer things about your Pyrokinesis. Unlike your practice with Cryokinesis, I understand you don't have a couple days of no responsibility to spare."

Danny nodded, "Yeah, last time with my ice powers, the whole town was taken over. School wasn't happening, my parents weren't aware, no one was for that matter… I don't have 'spare time' like that this time. It's the middle of a school week."

"Indeed," Clockwork nodded and switched from his middle-aged form to his old man form. He floated over to the set of doors that led to his main viewing room and turned to Danny, "I'm going to introduce you to an old friend of mine. I will warn you to try and show respect, even if he doesn't exactly behave… kindly. He's kind of a purest and the idea of you being both a ghost and a human at the same time is odd to him. He's a pretty powerful ghost, but he's also one who prefers his alone time, much like myself."

"Oh great, another _fan_," Danny grumbled sarcastically.

Clockwork smiled in sympathy, "People fear change and difference… Ghosts share those same qualities even after death."

Danny smiled, "This is when Sam would say something about people being too stubborn to except the different and unique or something like that."

Clockwork chuckled, "You know your friends well, Daniel. Come, I would like you to meet Hakan." Clockwork opened the doors and directed Danny's gaze towards a ghost in the center of the room.

He looked like a Native American chieftain. He had no chief's hat though; his dark brown dreadlocks flowed down his back and over the front of his shoulders; a couple feathers were bound to a few strands of his hair. His eyes were squinted as he gazed at Danny and Clockwork. A large pipe was held in his hand and he let a breath of smoke out from his mouth and nose. He didn't have the same green or blue skin or aura that most ghosts had and instead had a sort of clear visage over, what would else be, a normal human form. He almost seemed to be more like the kind of traditional things people thought of when they thought of ghosts _before_ a portal to the Ghost Zone had been created.

"The child of the spirit caught between the earth and the heavens…" Hakan murmured and put the pipe to his mouth again for another breath.

"Does he mean, Halfa?" Danny asked and quirked an eyebrow at Clockwork, who gave a silent nod.

"Come, child," Hakan spoke and let the smoke out from his nose and mouth again.

Danny glanced at Clockwork and his guardian nodded. Danny took a breath and walked forward.

"Hello, uh Mr. Hakan sir," Danny spoke and put out a hand to shake.

Hakan obliged. "A strange creature you are. Not quite man and not quite spirit."

"Yeah I get that a lot." Danny cringed slightly.

Hakan stood straighter and muttered, "The flesh and spirit should not occupy the same body in the way it does for you. It is a disgrace to the balance we have."

Danny's face suddenly fell and slight scowl came to his features.

"I feel hesitant giving power or control of power to such a being, but Father Time has assured me it is okay. I do this for him, not you," Hakan expressed.

Danny glanced over his shoulder at Clockwork with a pleading look on his face. Clockwork gave a sympathetic smile again and placed two Cryodiscs on a nearby table, "I'm going to leave these here. I'm fairly certain you will need them."

Danny's face grew frustrated after Clockwork somewhat sheepishly left the room. Danny sighed.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I would actually rather be at school today."

zzz

"I'd much rather be with Danny today, even if we got accidentally fried," Tucker grumbled.

"You said it," Sam agreed.

The duo's day had been less than fun to say the least. Even though they'd helped Danny very early that morning, they had still been late because of the Box Ghost appearing. They had both agreed that they should handle at least the Box Ghost while Danny was temporarily out of commission. After getting late to first period and earning a detention for that afternoon, they had run into Dash between first and second period who had asked them where Fen-toad was. Tucker got locked in the janitor's closet since Danny wasn't there for the bully's pleasure. They had missed the first half of Lunch to go with Jazz to make sure they got Danny's make up work from Principle Ishiyama's office. When they finally got the chance to sit down outside at their favorite bench, Valerie had approached them, halfway through eating.

"Tucker, incoming," Sam hissed when she spotted Valerie walking towards their table.

"Who?"

"Valerie."

"Oh, snap. You don't think?"

"Maybe, hush."

Valerie stopped and raised a brow at Sam and Tucker hunched over their table. They sat up sharply and gave giant fake smiles.

"Hello, Valerie," Sam said, trying to seem normal.

"Um, hi…" Valerie said and then shook her head. She put her bag on the bench and then sat next to Tucker, who tensed up. "Look I need to talk to you guys seriously about something. First where's Danny today?"

Sam and Tucker looked at each other and took a more serious demeanor than previously.

"Danny's sick today. He should be back tomorrow," Tucker replied.

Valerie nodded, "I guess that's good actually."

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other with a brow raised each.

Valerie sighed, "I don't know if you've noticed, but the last couple days I've been avoiding Danny."

"Well kinda… I think he noticed you were looking at him funny. Is there something wrong?" Sam asked.

Valerie frowned, "I… I was wondering since you two seem to like Phantom…"

Sam and Tucker watched her as she spoke and looked at them.

"Do you know what connection there is between Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom?" Valerie asked.

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other nervously.

zzz

"Fire is the opposite of Ice. So instead of letting all the energy inside, out, in order to regain control… You need to contain it. Pull it in. Once it is pulled back as far as possible, it no longer as anything to burn and extinguishes until you give it fuel again. Like anger, fire must be controlled or you will no longer _be_ the one in control," Hakan explained and let out another breath of smoke.

"I always heard bottling up anger is dangerous," Danny murmured suspiciously.

"It is. You aren't putting a cork in it, but you are keeping it mostly contained. The 'steam' so to speak is allowed out, but the fire stays in until you need it," Hakan muttered.

"Okay… okay, so I just push it down?" Danny asked after he'd transformed into Phantom.

"Yes," Hakan replied.

Danny nodded and stood straight before starting to concentrate on the heat in his chest. Then he moved to the heat in the rest of his body and slowly started to push it towards the center. It was resisting though and Danny started to sweat from the strain and from the heat that was increasing from it being condensed.

"RRrrrrRRaaaah!" Danny cried out and forced it down harder and harder. His hands were balled into fists and he was clenching his teeth. He suddenly couldn't keep it up and the heat still hadn't gotten past the point of containment. Danny lost his focus and the heat washed back over him and flew out from his hands when he spread them out. "AAaah!" Danny feel to his knees and panted as sweat started mat his hair.

Hakan sighed, walked over to the table and picked up one of the Cryodiscs. He came back over and pressed it against Danny's chest. It clicked and started to glow. Danny looked up at Hakan in slight surprise.

"You will try again after you cool down. Father Time informed me that it's most important for you to able to hide the fire and keep it in check today, then more tutelage can come later," Hakan explained.

Danny sighed and fell onto his butt, waiting for the device to cool his core just enough.

zzz

"Uh… What do you mean connection between Danny and Phantom?" Sam murmured.

Valerie looked between the two friends and furrowed her brows, "I mean you two seem to always be around with Phantom. I just assumed Danny helped too… unless… do his parents not approve of that?"

"Yeah… you know the Fentons… They don't like Phantom very much," Tucker laughed lamely.

Sam nodded at Tucker and then looked back at Valerie after she heard the bell ring, "Uh look Valerie, me and Tucker need to go. We really can't be late for another class today."

"We'll see you later, sometime," Tucker nodded before hurrying after Sam.

Valerie nodded to them both as they walked away and then sighed.

_Maybe it really was just a dream… Maybe it doesn't mean anything…_

"All because I went to bed thinking about Dani and half-ghosts… Why does everything with Phantom involved have to be so-" Valerie paused. An idea started to slowly form in her head. Dani Phantom changing into her human form… That ghost turning into Vlad Masters… Danny Phantom calling Dani his cousin… Her dream flashed through her mind and she could picture the white rings Dani had around Danny Phantom's waist. Her arms fell limply to her sides and for the first time in a long while, Valerie started to cry. She ran away from Casper, transformed into the Red Huntress in a place she wouldn't be spotted and flew home. At the moment, she was feeling pretty sick too. Her mind was preoccupied, school wouldn't stand a chance for its attention the rest of the day.

zzz

"I don't know if I can do this," Danny sighed in agitation. He was sweating even more now. He had tried three times already to quell the fire in his core.

Hakan grumbled and walked over to Danny. He clutched the disc on Danny's chest and yanked it off. It made a click noise coming off and Danny yelped in shock.

"I'm surprised… I thought one who can wear their soul on the outside would be stronger willed than this." Hakan shook his head.

Danny frowned, "Soul on the outside? You mean my Phantom persona?"

"Indeed… Perhaps you _lost_ your spirit instead when that mouth of thunder half killed you," Hakan mused.

"Mouth of thunder… the portal?" Danny murmured and then looked up with determination, "Are you trying to say… I lost my determination or something?"

"_Did_ you loose it?" Hakan asked and rose a brow.

Danny growled, "No I didn't. I wouldn't get up in the early hours to fight ghosts if I had! I wouldn't keep fighting when I'm aching all over or bleeding profusely if I had! I will protect the people I love and I will never stop." Heat started to come in waves from Danny's body as he stared at Hakan. The old ghost didn't seem worried and just let yet another breath of smoke out.

"I don't value your word."

Danny growled more angrily and threw his hands forward. Orangish white flames shot from his palms and rushed towards Hakan. Hakan didn't move except for taking the pipe away from his mouth. He took a breath and dark blue flames flew from his throat like a fire-breather. They completely engulfed Danny's flames and the fires canceled each other out. Danny stumbled back a bit and glanced down at his hands in fear.

"I… I didn't mean to…"

"Control the anger… control the fire. Pull it inside," Hakan spoke and took another inhale of his pipe. "All emotions are necessary, like fear. Hatred is something that can be controlled and managed like all emotions. Do you want to hurt people?"

"No! Of course I-"

"Do you want to hurt your family and friends?"

"NO!"

"Do you want to hurt your enemies?" Hakan pushed further, floated closer and towered over Danny partway.

There was a pregnant pause and for a moment Danny was gapping like a fish, until-

"no." Danny whispered.

"What was that?"

"No." Danny replied more firmly and then sighed. "I've never really wanted to hurt… anyone."

Hakan looked over Danny while the young man continued to glance at the ground in shame. Finally Hakan sighed. "You are an interesting one, child. You are a disgrace to the balance and yet… you behave like a Great Guardian."

"Huh?" Danny asked and cocked his head in confusion.

Hakan smiled, "Great warriors of my people that were known for their bravery and just nature."

Danny gave Hakan a smile, "I'm sorry for… attacking you."

"Bah, you think it's the first time I've gotten someone angry at me?"

Danny laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"So now… Where were we?" Hakan nodded and put the pipe to his mouth again.

Danny smiled and closed his eyes, "Pulling in the anger."

zzz

Valerie wasn't surprised when she didn't find her father at home. He was supposed to be having a meeting with Danny's parents today at Axion. She dropped her things at the door to their apartment and walked into her room. Her eyes were red from crying some and she simply fell onto her bed. It was all too much… Maybe she was just inventing things? Danny Fenton being Danny Phantom? It was just just… but no. That had to be the reason no one had figured it out… why no one had figured Vlad Masters out. Sometimes the most obvious things are the most difficult ones to notice.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax, but her dream flashed in the back of her mind like a cruel reminder. She stood up and started to pace.

"Okay let's see where this goes… What do Fenton and Phantom have in common?"

_Fenton leaves and Phantom appears, though that could always be a coincidence. They look the same in body type and such. Valerie blushed lightly when she realized the boy she'd been dating at one time wore that hazmat suit so well and close-_ She stopped and shook her head.

"You still don't know if they're the same person, Valerie… Easy…"

_Fenton started to change some since that accident a couple years ago. His grades started to drop, he wasn't as personable except with his two best friends, he seemed to always need to go to the bathroom. The accident was also about that time that Phantom first appeared. They both seem to actually be maturing at the same rate and ghosts shouldn't mature slowly. They tended to only change when they were granted power._

"If Danny Fenton was actually Phantom… Then he probably would've been trying to help people… and all those times he tried to say he was helping-"

_No but what about him stealing and hurting the Mayor before Masters!?_

She growled in frustration, trying to put everything together. She needed answers from the source itself. They needed to talk. At the same time, she was worried she was just falling into the ghost's trap she swore she would never fall for. Valerie then sighed and flopped onto her side on the bed. Her nightmare had followed her beyond her pillow.

zzz

"Aaaaaaah…" Danny sighed happily as he kneeled on the now cold floor. Ice curled and spiraled around him. Some of the smallest of crystals would break off from the spiraled structures around him he was building and float about his form like snow and cool him like mist. "I will never take my ice powers for granted again."

Hakan chuckled, "You have figured out how to control and pull in your fire. I suggest meditation after very stressful days to prevent yourself from loosing control. Come back when you have the time and I will try and teach you how to harness the power you have. Before you go, quickly… I want to see you switch between your hot and cold core as effectively as you can."

Danny nodded and stood up. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The ice around him slowly started to melt and Hakan could feel heat waves pulsing from the young Fenton. Then suddenly the heat started to fade away and the hissing water on the floor started to crystalize and turn into solid ice as a chill reentered the room. The heat returned once more and then the cold yet again. Finally Danny opened his eyes with hope in them.

Hakan was smiling broadly, "I have to say… I think I see now why Father Time has taken a liking to you, child."

Danny smiled back, "Thanks for your help, Hakan. I hope to see you again soon when I have the chance to come back and visit."

Hakan nodded and walked over to the table, pulling the extra Cyrodisc from it and handing it to Danny.

"Hide it somewhere if there's an emergency and here," Hakan spoke and floated towards a window that had a view the Ghost Zone, "See over there?" Hakan pointed to a mountain range floating far behind Clockwork's tower. "Beyond those mountains, there is a valley that houses a beautiful waterfall and many trees. My home is there. Go there when you want to learn more about your fire."

Danny smiled and nodded, "I'd love to see your home. You're a good teacher Hakan. I like meeting the nicer ghosts here, like Clockwork, Frostbite and some of the others."

Hakan barked out a laugh, "I should've known Frostbite was the one to teach you those ice powers. It turns out our lives before this spiritual place weren't too different you know? We were both chieftains where we came from… but that's a story for another time. Piuraa, my friend."

Danny seemed confused.

"Goodbye…" Hakan laughed and took another breath of smoke. He eyed Danny again and offered the pipe to the young man, "As my friend, would you like a breath?"

Danny laughed nervously, "I appreciate it, really, but I could get in trouble with my parents if I did that. The time I live in isn't so lenient with that sort of thing. I hope you understand." Danny finished with a sad look on his face. Hakan nodded.

"I understand child, now go. We will meet again soon."

Danny smiled and floated into the air, "Thanks and see you soon! Tell Clockwork I said bye!" Danny then shot out of the tower and floated off into the Ghost Zone.

Hakan coughed as Clockwork floated up beside him from the shadows he'd been hiding in.

"I now understand your interest in him, friend."

Clockwork laughed as he changed into his middle-aged form from his child-form.

"Indeed, he's a good boy. Believe it or not… sometimes we need a little disturbance to set the balance right again."

Hakan rose a brow, "Oh, is that so?"

Clockwork laughed.

"I believe you Father Time, after all… you see all," Hakan murmured.

"Yes… yes I do," Clockwork answered as he floated out of the room; a sad and uncomfortable look was on his face, which no one saw. Hakan continued to look out of the window Danny had left from, smoking his pipe with a contemplative look on his face.

zzz

Danny poked his head through the Ghost Portal carefully, looking to see if his parents had come home early. When he saw no one, he floated in and transformed before running over and closing the portal. He let out a breath and smiled as he walked up the stairs to the den. Everything was as they'd left it. He nodded and walked over to the stairs, kickings off his shoes and making his way to his room. He made his way over to his dresser and changed shirts for a white tank and his jeans for sweats. He traipsed over to his desk and sat at his chair lazily. Danny looked at the clock and saw it was about two forty, so Sam, Tucker, and Jazz should be here to check on him in an hour or so. He saw his Chemistry book open and some problems half finished next to it. He grumbled and pulled out a pencil.

"Might as well get it done while I have the chance-" A wisp of blue mist escaped his mouth as he said those words.

"I Technus, Master of all things Technological shall infest your cities' computers with my powers and-"

Danny banged his head against his desk before the familiar white rings enveloped him.

"Hopefully I can get this over with soon," Danny muttered and flew through his bedroom wall intangibly after grabbing up a spare Fenton Thermos from his desk. Immediately he spotted Technus floating before him.

"Technus… I thought we talked about this…" Danny sighed.

Technus frowned, "I did it again… Didn't I?"

"Yeah…" Danny nodded.

"This bites!" Technus growled and then grinned, "You get it? bites? Nanobytes?"

Danny facepalmed, "Close but-" Danny spoke and then uncapped the thermos for it to start sucking in Technus who wailed a bit in defeat. Technus disappeared into the thermos and Danny snapped the lid on, "-no cigar!" He nodded and then looked around to make sure no one saw Danny Phantom enter the Fenton's home. He transformed and settled back into his desk chair. He then went back to working on his homework. He successfully finished a few problems before he got stumped on a question. He scratched his scalp and bit his pencil a bit before sighing and looking at the thermos. He grabbed it up and spoke.

"Hey Technus, you there?"

"I'm not speaking to you."

Danny rolled his eyes, "Fine I guess you don't know basic Chemistry then…"

"I beg your pardon! I'll have you know that wrote several large textbooks on the subject in my time!"

"Writing one's thing, but can you _solve_ the questions?" Danny huffed.

"Of course!"

"Prove it!"

"Very well!"

"A 6.0 L sample at 25 °C and 2.00 atm of pressure contains 0.5 moles of a gas. If an additional 0.25 moles of gas at the same pressure and temperature are added, what is the final total volume of the gas?" Danny questioned.

"Bah! That's the best you can throw at me? For this example, V i = 6.0 L and n i = 0.5 moles. When 0.25 moles are added, n f = n i + 0.25 moles, n f = 0.5 moles = 0.25 moles, and n f = 0.75 moles. The only variable remaining is the final volume. So-"

"I got it!" Danny exclaimed and continued to finish the problem, "The answer would be nine liters. Thanks, Technus!"

Technus fumbled, "Excuuuuuse me!? Did you just use me!?"

"Well sorta. I figured it out on my own though after you gave me the hint I needed for the first half." Danny shrugged even though Technus couldn't see it.

"Darn it," Technus grumbled.

"Hey, at least now I'm… done! I can send you back to the Ghost Zone before my parents come home and find you. That would end messily… probably for both of us," Danny muttered and grabbed the thermos from his desk after snapping his textbook shut.

"Hmm… I suppose so. I've got to say Ghost Child, you play a dangerous game," Technus spoke.

"You're telling me," Danny grunted and ran down the stairs and then went towards the lab.

He got into the lab and clicked the thermos into the slot. "Remember to at least try and cut back on the monologuing or you'll just keep embarrassing yourself more and more."

"I can't believe I'm receiving your pity… How revolting." Technus grumbled.

"Whatever, see ya later… I'm sure," Danny replied and clicked the button. He heard a flush and Technus called out one more time.

"I will take over the world one day, Ghost Child! And there will be nothing you can do about iiiiitttt!"

Danny took out the thermos and chuckled, "Reverse psychology on ghosts… Gotta thank Jazz for that idea later."

Danny spun on his heal and made his way back up to his room and sat down to get onto his computer. He reached to the back of the monitor and pressed a special button Tucker had installed there for him. As soon as he did this, a usually invisible folder popped up. Danny clicked on it and typed in a password to open it. His documents on all things ghost related then appeared before him and he started to sift through it. Team Phantom had decided that a normal password protected folder would be suspicious if Danny's parents ever snooped on his computer as some would think Danny was hiding other things rather than info on Ghosts. Keeping a paper trail was decided against eventually, so Tucker had come up with this idea so that the info was kept the safest as possible. Tucker had installed the Folder's own memory in the monitor as well so the government or other hackers wouldn't find it… especially the GiW. Inside there were several sub folders:

-Danny

-Dani

-Vlad

-Friends

-Enemies

-Neutrals and other

-Artifacts

-Lore and History

-Other Timelines

Danny's eyes locked onto the one labeled Other Timelines before he sighed and shook his head. He then double clicked on the folder for himself and opened a document that listed his abilities and powers. Scrolling to a certain place, he typed up as much as he knew about his new Pyrokinesis. Once done there, Danny backed up and went to the Friends folder and made a new document and labeled it: Hakan. Danny cracked his knuckles and started to type.

Name: Hakan

Home or Lair: Unexplored

Abilities Known: Master of Pyrokinesis

Danny went on like this for a bit before finishing his work and backing out of the main Folder. He then reached back and pushed the monitor's button again. He sighed contently, feeling accomplished for getting everything on his plate, at that moment, done. He then heard the front door open downstairs.

"Hey! Danny, you there!? It's us, Sam, Tucker and me!"

Danny smiled and turned intangible before floating through the floor and finding them. He landed neatly on the ground.

"Hey guys," Danny smiled.

"So?" Jazz asked with a smile.

Danny noticed the strained looks on Sam and Tucker, but turned to answer Jazz's question first.

"I've had… an interesting day." Danny shrugged and motioned for them all to sit on the couch with him. He then retold his story about learning to control his fire powers.

zzz

"I even finished my Chemistry homework," Danny sighed, "I wish more days could be like this."

Jazz smiled brightly at the rare relaxed smile on her brother's face before he and she noticed Sam and Tucker's anxious shared glance.

Danny's relaxed smile turned into a worried frown, "What is it." It was more of a fact rather than a question.

Tucker sighed and then began, "First off me and Sam, adverse to you, had a looooong day-"

"Tucker, that's not important," Sam grumbled.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways," Tucker continued and gave Danny a serious look, "Valerie asked us directly today what was the connection between Danny _Fenton_ and Danny _Phantom_."

Danny and Jazz's eyes opened wide.

"What did you tell her?" Jazz asked, her voice rising a little, out of habit. She tended to do that when she was worried.

"We said that your parents don't let you help Phantom like… we apparently do." Sam winced. "And that was that. Point is… I think she's catching onto it… if she hasn't already figured it out."

Danny started fidgeting his hands, "Well damn it."

"Danny," Jazz hissed slightly at her brother cursing and then shook her head, "Never mind. I guess that's somewhat justified."

"Oh I think it justifies a-" Sam started and Tucker raised his hand.

"Don't finish that sentence, Sam," Tucker sighed. Sam crossed her arms and looked back at Danny.

"Regardless, what should we do?"

Danny was staring at the ground for a bit, seemingly not hearing his friends or sister.

"Dude?" Tucker pressed.

"Danny?" Jazz spoke and placed a hand on his shoulder. Danny looked up at all of them.

"I guess the only thing we can do… I need to go talk to her as Phantom. Either I can make her doubt any conclusions she may have drawn or I come clean if I feel the need." Danny sighed.

"Danny are you sure?" Jazz asked nervously.

"Danny are you nuts!?" Sam shouted and stood up, "This girl has been trying to kill you! _Kill_ you! Do you really think she'll accept you that quick!? We shouldn't rush into this!"

Danny frowned, "Sam, she accepted Dani for the most part… and I'm already dead, sort of."

Sam's face grew more frustrated, "Danny you know good a well what I mean and how do you know she'll do the same for you? She's had a grudge on you for about two years almost. She didn't even have a deep-seated reason to hate Dani. Remember? She's shoot first ask questions, never!"

Danny stood up and surprised Sam by reminding her that he was finally a bit taller than her and growing.

"I know that! You think I don't know that!? I just want to see if she…" A pained look entered Danny's eyes. "Maybe you're right… maybe… I just want people to not hate me."

Sam's aggression immediately melted at the slight desperation in his voice. She could only really imagine how hard this was for him. She had always felt like _she_ was the one no one could ever understand or accept before Danny's accident, but that had been changed for a long time… and not just when Danny's accident happened either… when she actually met Danny and Tucker. They accepted and understood her like no one else could.

"Danny… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so mad. I just worry about you. I don't want you to get hurt."

Danny sighed. "I already get hurt Sam… I-"

"I meant here, Danny." She mumbled a put a hand on his chest were his heart was. She could feel it thumping lighter than a normal human's and slower.

"Ugh… You guys are so killing me here!"

Danny and Sam turned to look at Tucker, breaking the intense eye contact they had shared for a moment. Tucker was glaring at them and tapping his foot.

"Can't you two just freaking kiss! Hell, I'd even sit here and watch you make out if you two would just get togeth-OUCH!" Tucker yelped when he found Sam's steel-toed boot slammed against his shin. He immediately grabbed the hurt area.

"Shut-up Tucker!" Sam growled.

Danny was growling at his friend and whipped his head around when his sensitive hearing told him Jazz was snickering.

"What?" Danny asked, suspicion in his voice.

Jazz straightened up, "Hm? You talking about me? Oh nothing, nothing."

Danny grumbled something under his breath as a blush formed on his cheeks and turned back to Sam and Tucker.

"So?" Sam asked, "Have we even decided on anything?"

Danny shrugged. "I don't know."

"I think you should talk to her. If she's feeling guilty, then maybe she's in the best mood to actually be accepting. Psychologically speaking of course," Jazz expressed.

"Feels a little under-handed," Danny murmured.

"You and your dang hero-complex," Tucker spoke and rolled his eyes.

Danny groaned slightly in return, "Fine. I'll talk to her as Phantom as soon as the opportunity arises."

Everyone looked at each other hesitantly but with resolve. After a bit more casual talking, Sam and Tucker got up and left for home. Danny and Jazz walked into the kitchen to fix a little snack when they heard their parents arrive home.

"Danny-boy!? Jazzy-pants!? Guess what I got to do today!" Jack's excited voice boomed from the den. He poked his head into the kitchen and found them there.

"What dad?" Jazz asked with a bit of annoyance.

"We saw a weird Techno ghost guy earlier and I got to use the Ghost Gabber on him before he left! And it worked!" Jack said excitedly.

"That's great, dad," Danny replied passively but in a friendly manner. Even with the Valerie thing, he was still in a decent mood.

"That's great, dad. Fear me."

Maddie was now in the kitchen and everyone paused at the machine's voice.

"Darn it!" Jack grumbled, "I thought for sure I fixed that. I don't know why this thing keeps doing that to Danny."

Maddie walked forward and put a hand on Danny's head before he could protest, "Your fever seems to be gone. You almost kinda feel cold though."

Danny backed away slightly, "I uh, you know… had the thermostat way down before Jazz got home. That must be it!"

Maddie nodded and then smiled, "Well I'm certainly glad you're feeling better, sweetie."

Jack was still scratching his head in confusion and looking at the Ghost Gabber.

"I guess I need to rework this thing, _again_." Jack huffed and thudded away.

So with most everything settled down, the Fenton family had supper and the kids went to their rooms and the parents went to the lab.

zzz

Danny was sleeping soundly in his bed; a soft snore came from his mouth as he tossed the covers slightly and revealed one of his legs. He had abandoned his sweats and wore only his boxers with his tank. His eyes snapped open when a blue mist escaped his mouth.

"I wonder if she'll be there…" Danny murmured and transformed while still in bed. He glanced at his alarm and saw it was one o' clock. "She usually isn't for most night hunts." He went intangible and flew out of his covers which fell and trapped the heat he'd had. He then drifted into Jazz's room and nudged her shoulder.

"Danny? What is it?" She asked and rubbed her eyes after sitting up. Danny was floating over her bed.

"I was just… going to tell you I'm going out to hunt a ghost. Valerie might be there. I just thought you'd want to know," Danny answered.

Jazz nodded and then smiled, "Thanks Danny. I appreciate it. Be careful and see you later."

"Yeah, go back to sleep," Danny nodded and then vanished from her sight. She sighed and laid there for a moment before trying to fall back asleep.

zzz

Danny grumbled as he capped the thermos. It had only been the Box Ghost. Normally he'd be sorta thankful, kinda, but he always got annoyed when the _Box Ghost_ was one to wake him from slumber. Danny glanced around and exhaled. No sign of Valerie. He started to turn around to disappear and fly home, when he heard the click and then the charge of a ghost weapon.

"Phantom."

Danny gulped slightly and turned slowly to lock eyes with the Red Huntress.

"Oh… hey there… Valerie."

"That's the Red Huntress to you."

"Oh uh, sorry." Danny gulped. They stood there silently as Valerie continued to aim her bazooka at him.

"Well? Are you going to run?"

Danny flinched, "Uh… I was kinda thinking maybe you wanted to uh, talk? I mean that Sam girl and Tucker guy told me that you were wondering about me and that um… Fenton boy."

Valerie seemed a bit surprised and lowered her gun a bit. "You heard about that, huh?" Danny noticed the bazooka she was holding was starting to wobble slightly.

"Valerie?" Danny asked, "Val?"

Valerie froze at that shortened version of her name, like the ghost was more familiar with her then he technically should be. She slowly looked up and locked eyes with him, "Danny?" She whispered. "Danny… Fenton?" She whimpered more clearly. She saw a sorrowful look cross Danny's face before a resolved half-smile came.

"Yeah?"

"No…" Valerie murmured and let the bazooka hang limply at her side, "How…? This… this can't be happening. It's a dream or a nightmare, but this just doesn't make sense."

Danny frowned and then motioned to her. "Come on. Let's find a place to talk about it, okay?"

Valerie surprised him by giving him a slightly suspicious look.

"I promise I'm not doing anything funny. Just trust me once, really trust me, okay Valerie?"

Valerie's face fell a bit and she put her weapon away, "Okay… lead the way spo- I mean… Danny."

Danny nodded and flew towards Amity Park, Valerie trailing behind.

zzz

Sam was laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She'd been that way for at least an hour or two. After enjoying some video games and watching a movie she'd rented recently, she'd finally gone to bed… or well gotten _in_ bed. Truth be told there were only two things that caused her to lay awake and stare at the ceiling like this. The first was her poetry. Sometimes the inspiration refused to come some nights. The second… the one she was thinking of now and wishing it didn't cause her to have this kind of reaction was… Danny.

She kept wondering what would happen if Valerie_ did_ accept Danny… Don't get her wrong, she would be horribly upset if Valerie dared to say one hateful thing to Danny once she knew who and what he was, but at the same time…

"I'm afraid…"

She could remember the pain of watching him walk with Valerie and talk with her when they were technically dating before. Valerie had really been the first other than Sam to like Danny _Fenton_ for who he was… Now though she couldn't help but notice how a few extra girls would look at him when he walked through the halls with her and Tucker. Even Tucker was getting more attention too and her… she thought so but then again she was never really bothering to notice. Now that the three of them had started to bloom, since they were kinda late bloomers, she knew Danny would be getting more attention. Some who'd also matured in their later years of high school and started to look past trying to fit in, would also bother to notice the things about him that had swept Sam away in the first place. His smile, his laugh, his adorable clumsiness, his eyes… Sam grit her teeth.

"Manson… You aren't supposed to think that way. Fawning over some guy like some helplessly lost girl goes against everything you've ever preached about. You don't want to be a hypocrite do you?"

She groaned in frustration, but Danny wasn't just _any_ guy. He was also her best friend. She knew too that she really liked him more than a friend, but she didn't know if he'd ever feel the same and even the idea of accidentally ruining their friendship because of her selfishness… unthinkable. She sighed in defeat and tried to close her eyes to sleep.

"Just please don't ever forget me Danny… I think that would hurt most of all."

zzz

"I didn't want to believe it. I still don't want to believe it," Valerie murmured.

She and Danny were sitting under a large tree in the park. She'd taken off her suit and Danny was still sitting as Phantom.

"How'd you piece it together?" Danny asked. He noticed a small glance she gave him, when she thought he hadn't seen.

Valerie frowned, "I had seen Dani change as you know, that and you told me she was half human. After that I saw, while I was hidden, Vlad transform into that other ghost after you'd left. You said Dani was your cousin…"

"There's got to be something else-" Danny added.

"I had a dream… I…" Valerie seemed to choke on her words.

"It's okay Valerie. I'll understand."

She gulped and continued, "I finally got Phantom. Shot him in the back and he fell. He hit pretty hard and suddenly before I could get closer, a bright flash blinded me and…"

"And?"

"And Danny _Fenton_ was… bleeding on the ground instead," Valerie finished, "I was horrified."

Danny nodded. He kept noticing her glancing at him with slight suspicion in her eyes. Perhaps to most it would be well hidden, but Danny could sense emotion at a very basic level since ectoplasm itself fed of of energy or emotions depending on the circumstances.

Valerie looked over at him, "So…"

"Yeah… I won't lie this time. Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom. It's just a name, Phantom doesn't exist."

Her voice shook, "Could you?"

Danny nodded as a ring of white light appeared, split about his waist and traveled up and down his body turning him into Fenton. He blushed when he realized he was still in his boxers.

"Ah Damn it."

Valerie couldn't help but laugh, "I guess any worries I had of Phantom overshadowing you or something were just extinguished. That's a Fenton move, definitely."

Danny chuckled a bit and changed back into Phantom to be more decently clothed. Valerie had on her school clothes still for some reason, though she lacked her shoes, yellow headband and her jewelry she normally wore.

"Uh by the way, why are you in your day clothes?" Danny asked and then blushed, "Not that I was uh…"

Valerie sighed, "I left school today the moment the pieces fell together. I told my dad later I had had felt sick and kinda fell asleep on my bed in my clothes until my ghost alert told me a ghost was nearby."

"Oh… Valerie… You don't have to feel so guilty. I mean it is my fault I didn't tell you."

Valerie shook her head, "Before I argue about my innocence or lack there of in the matter, let's start at the beginning. If that's okay?"

Danny nodded, "Yeah. I owe it to you."

Valerie nodded, "Okay… How?"

"My lab accident. My body was infused with Ecto-energy the moment I was zapped by the portal. I was inside it, not just near it. It technically half killed me. I'm a Halfa. Half human and half ghost, caught in limbo of sorts. I still need food, oxygen… most of the time, showers, and pretty much everything a normal human needs. My heart rate and temperature is lower and slower than normal but higher than full ghosts. I'm super strong and super fast as well."

Valerie nodded and tried to digest the new info before looking back up, "Okay, why did you let that dog-"

"Cujo…"

Valerie gave him a slight glare which put Danny on edge.

Danny frowned in irritation. "Cujo was a watch dog at the Axion Labs. When guard dogs were no longer needed they were put down. Cujo just wanted his squeaky toy. I was still learning how to use my powers and well I couldn't easily stop him then. It was an accident, I swear."

Valerie sighed, "Just like you'd said."

Danny nodded. He flinched when she suddenly stood up and glared at him. He frowned in anger, already figuring where this was going.

"How the heck do I know this isn't just some big trick!? You're evil! You've done a bunch of bad things and Phantom and Fenton are like two completely different people!" She growled and clenched her fists. "Do you realize how foolish I feel!? You could've told me!"

Danny could tell she was flip-flopping between betrayal, suspicion, and frustration. He stood up to face her, knowing he was angry at her too.

"Excuse me for not wanting to be seen as some kind of inhuman, unfeeling thing! You know Valerie, you kept thinking how bad your lovely life had gotten, but think about this, what if you were afraid of almost everyone you knew? What if, you were constantly wondering if you were going to be discovered and picked and prodded at? I kinda didn't like the idea of some whack job group of scientists, picking me apart or heaven forbid my own parents! I need people to trust me Valerie! I NEED that, otherwise if someone starts to pick me apart and I turn into a human, then they'll keep picking while I bleed human blood. You believed in Dani's humanity when I told you she was half human, please believe in _mine_."

Valerie faltered for a moment, most of her anger dissipating, but Valerie being Valerie, hung onto her doubts to the bitter end.

"But Dani never did half of the evil things you have!" Valerie growled and got closer to his face.

Danny was much calmer now and didn't flinch at her closeness. He spoke evenly and confidently. "Give me your reasons for doubting me and I'll tell you why you're wrong."

Valerie put her hands to her sides. "You stole all that money and merchandise from those stores, banks and museums."

"The Circus Gothica was in Town. You remember Freakshow, the guy that was arrested for the possession of said stolen goods? He had this staff with a crystal orb that controlled ghosts."

Valerie flinched and seemed to give Danny with a sympathetic look, "You mean you-"

"It was completely against my will. I swear I was trying to fight it, but-"

Valerie interrupted him, her eyebrows furrowing, "And the mayor, the one before-" She growled out Vlad's name. "Vlad?"

"There's this ghost named Walker. He's like a corrupt sherif that inhabits the Ghost Zone and he has it out for me. Because I escaped his prison, since he locked me up for crimes that were unjust, he decided to make my prison 'the town I live in' so he overshadowed the mayor, put me in a headlock I couldn't escape from and framed me."

"And Vlad Masters? What has he been-"

"He's been trying every way possible to make things harder for me."

Valerie finally seemed to be calming down again. She took some deep breathes and then closed her eyes before leaning against a tree. Both teens sat in silence for a moment before Valerie broke the quiet with yet another question that was slightly off topic.

"Who's Dani, Fenton? I know you don't have a cousin like her." She looked up after Danny didn't respond immediately. He had pulled his legs up and was floating with them crossed under him; he was staring at nothing in the distance. Quite suddenly, he looked right into her eyes and she felt like he was staring into her soul.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to think any less of her? Will you promise not to cause her harm in any way… Even if you decide to turn me into the GiW-"

Valerie opened her mouth to speak but Danny silenced her by raising his hand.

"-will you promise to not mention her even in passing?"

Valerie sighed, "I'm not going to turn you into those nuts, Danny, and I promise."

Danny watched her for a moment before taking a deep breathe, "She's… my clone."

"Oh dear God, how-who?"

"Vlad."

Valerie shook her head and then clenched her fists, "He's… he's the most…"

"Seriously crazed up fruit-loop you've ever met?"

Valerie looked at Danny's smirking face and laughed a bit, "Yeah I guess that's the best description of him…" She glanced down at her feet and they both elapsed into silence yet again.

Finally after a few minutes she spoke, "How do you do it?"

Danny flinched, "Huh?"

"How have you been dealing with this? All of this? All of us?"

Danny chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "Well I think I would've lost my head a long time ago if not for Sam and Tucker. They're the best friends I could ever ask for, scratch that, that _anyone_ could ever ask for."

Valerie smiled, "I get it."

Danny nodded.

Valerie took a deep breath, "I believe you Danny."

Danny paused in his floating and hovered, still, in the air. "You mean that?"

Valerie thought for a moment to make sure she was certain. She glanced at Danny and looked over his face. She could see it now, plain as day. Danny's face was there, behind the white hair and green eyes. How in the world had no one ever figured it out for so long?

"Yeah I do mean it."

"…That means a lot to me, Val. Thanks."

Once more pause in the conversation came, though it was much briefer.

"Now what?" Valerie asked.

"Now what, what?"

"Where do we go from here?" Valerie replied, "I mean I've been trying to waste you for a couple years now… God… how could I've been so stupid!"

"Sometimes… people can be misguided. We can all be guilty of ignorance, even though it's something so easily remedied."

"You sound like your sister or something."

"Well she's actually not too bad once you realize she has her moments."

"She knows too huh?"

"Yeah that helps too."

Valerie gulped, "Danny? Is there anything I could do?"

He looked up at her.

"You know, to help? It's the least I can do."

Danny smiled, "For now… I think it's best we try to act normal. Vlad still thinks you work for him. He might start messing with your life if he figures out you know about me and especially since you know about him."

Valerie's face turned determined, "I'm not afraid. I already lost almost everything without his help, no offense."

"None taken."

"So he doesn't scare me."

Danny frowned, "That doesn't matter. You don't have anything for him, so he could waste you without anyone knowing he did it. He wants me as his creepy perfect son and mom as… I won't say, but you? He just wanted you as a pawn to make my life a bit harder."

Valerie grit her teeth, "A pawn, huh? Sam and Tucker help you. Vlad could waste them at any time."

Danny sighed, "I wish they wouldn't but they're too stubborn. I don't want anymore people to put themselves at risk for me. It's not just Vlad either."

Valerie shook her head, "All this time… you really were the hero almost everyone was thinking you were, except me and your parents…"

"Yeah."

"That's just flat out depressing," Valerie frowned.

"Welcome to my life… half life," Danny smiled lamely.

"I'm helping."

"Huh?"

"I have my suit. It's only mine and not Vlad's. It's attached to my body and not his. I'm going to start helping you. Slowly, but I will. Vlad will just have to get over it. I can't sit on the sidelines and watch you fight so hard for everybody and not have more help!"

Danny was frowning and then smiled, "Okay… obviously you're going to be just as stubborn as Sam and Tuck."

"You better believe it."

"It'll take some time, but we'll catch you up on things."

Danny stood up and helped her up as well. She glanced at him.

"I can't believe I dumped you to hunt you."

"…Irony's funny, huh?"

She sighed, "That's aright though. You're a great guy Danny, really. And honestly, I think you belong to someone else. I was always kinda suspicious that you did."

Danny cocked his head and a blush formed on his cheeks, "Uh… what what do you mean by that?" He asked and his eyes flicked from left to right and back to her nervously.

Valerie shook her head, "I've seen you two grow closer and closer these last couple months."

"Who are you-?"

"Tell her, Danny. Tell her how you feel. Don't do this to yourself, but most importantly don't do this to Sam."

"What!? Sam?!" Danny's face turned a shade redder.

Valerie sighed, "Take a girl's advice. She's just as into you as you are her."

Danny froze and he gulped slightly and then looked away, "What If she…"

"She won't." Valerie spoke.

Danny smiled at her, "I'll… I'll think about it."

Valerie nodded and gave a smile. Danny smiled back and started to float away.

"Danny?"

Danny turned and looked down at Valerie.

"Thank you, for everything."

Danny's face went from happy to ecstatic, "Thanks…"

She shook her head, "See you at school tomorrow then."

"Yeah you too, Huntress." Danny smirked and then gave a wave and shot off.

Valerie waved a bit after he was gone and then looked at her hands. She finally clutched them. "I will help them. I won't forgive myself otherwise. Finally I know what team I should've been on."

She looked back up into the night sky before transforming into the Red Huntress and flying towards home.

**zzzzzzzzz**

**So here's the second chapter and the reveal to Valerie. After D-Stabilized I always felt like Valerie would catch on pretty quick. Danny took a big risk telling Valerie that Dani, who looks so much like Danny, was half human. Of course he was more concerned about Dani's safety at the time, so it was a trade of sorts. At first my first written reveal didn't have Valerie getting angry or irritated as much, but then I realized that it lacked Valerie's 'passion' I guess is a nicer name for it. When people like her are proven wrong and they've actually been doing something they would have thought under normal circumstances was wrong or immoral, they tend to try and justify their actions, get angry, or enter denial of some form. Overall I hope I did a decent job of it.**

**Tell me your thoughts, especially if you like where this story is going.**

**zzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**Amber052****2: Is Paulina and Star gonna be in this?**

**NoSignal: Absolutely! I hope to have every character appear in this at least once. They shall play a big role later.**

**Avatar Rikki: One question is that you said Danny's temperature was 101 (I think I read that right), and I assume you meant 110 and that it was a typo (cause Tucker said it was 12 points above normal which would be 110). **

**NoSignal: When Tucker said ten points above normal, he mean Danny's normal 89 or 90 degrees, which would be 101 or 102. Sorry if that was a little unclear. :)**

**Thanks to everyone that's fav'd, followed, reviewed, and read. It means a lot to me, especially in these first few chapters. Once I know people want the story to continue, I get motivated for the long run!**


	3. Hakan's Lair

**Alrighty, Chapter 3.**

**Ya ready?**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." ~ Mark Twain_

zzz

"I can't believe it."

"Jazz."

"I mean I seriously… wow."

"Jazz come on, geez. It was going to happen sooner or later," Danny muttered and rubbed his chin out of self-consciousness.

"But awww… My little brother is getting so old now…" Jazz cooed.

Danny scowled and scratched his chin again and flinched. "Ouch. I guess I need to shave soon. That sounds weird to say."

"Don't worry Danny-boy! Shaving's a synch!" Jack suddenly bellowed as he wandered into the kitchen that early morning. Danny was attacking his omelet again when he and Jazz heard their father's voice.

"Oh uh, yeah. Thanks dad. I probably need to head to school soon though. Maybe you can show me later or tomorrow or never, whichever works for you," Danny replied nervously.

Jazz laughed and shook her head as Jack rummaged through the fridge.

"You don't think I can shave right?" Jack grunted.

"Well…" Danny replied nervously.

"You see this?" Jack spoke and pulled his head out of the fridge and gestured to his chin, "A Fenton knows how to keep himself clean cut and smooth like a baby's bottom!"

Danny facepalmed.

"And you'll join that tradition of success, son!"

Danny sighed and gave a half smile. "Sure dad."

"Thata boy." Jack grinned, "Danny get off to school! Jazz you have a good time at the library again! Me and your mother's in the lab today. Have a good one!" Jack fished out the plate of fudge he'd been searching for and left the kitchen.

Jazz giggled again.

"Oh be quiet," Danny muttered half jokingly. He then stood up and put his dishes in the sink. "I'm flying to Sam's house to meet her and Tucker. They wanted to walk with me today to talk about Valerie."

Jazz nodded and stood up, grabbing her keys. "So she knows and she's joining the team eventually, huh?"

"Seems that way. See ya later." Danny pulled his red sweatshirt from the back of his chair and put it on. It had just turned October that day and with the new month had come a cold front. While most were putting on heavy coats, Danny was in a thin sweatshirt. He waved and threw his backpack over his shoulder before going through the front door.

"You too, little brother."

As soon as Danny got a couple blocks away, he slipped into an alleyway and transformed. He turned invisible with his backpack and shot off towards Sam's house before transforming in the alleyway nearby. He walked out to the front door with his backpack over one shoulder and rung the bell when he saw Tucker wasn't there yet.

Pamela Manson answered the door.

"Oh… What are _you_ doing here?" Pamela asked.

Danny tried to act polite even if he was irritated by her behavior.

"Just going to walk with Sam and Tucker to school Mrs. Manson," Danny replied.

Pamela looked him over and shook her head and gave a sigh. "Very well Daniel." She turned after walking inside a bit and shouted, "Samanthaaaaaa! Your acquaintance, the Fenton boy is here!"

Danny had to repress a chuckle when Sam shouted back from her room upstairs.

"Mother! It's Sam not Samantha and his name is Danny! DAN-NY!"

"Whatever darling." Pamela sighed and gave Danny one last glare before turning and disappearing inside the house. Danny gulped slightly and scratched the back of his head in nervousness. A few minutes later he could hear Sam thumping down the stairs. She came to the door and Danny smiled.

"Morning," Danny greeted.

"Morning, is Tucker here yet?" Sam asked and put her spider backpack on her back and shut the door behind her.

"Right here, dudes!" Tucker grinned and jogged the rest of the way to catch up to them. The three then turned and started their walk to school.

"So Valerie knows now, huh?" Tucker asked and broke the slight silence.

"Yeah. She wants to help us. I tried to warn her against it-"

"Like you did us?" Sam asked and cocked her eyebrow.

"Yeah yeah, like you guys. Anyways she said she's going to slowly join us, so Vlad or anyone else doesn't get _too_ suspicious." Danny expressed.

"I guess…" Sam replied.

Danny looked over at her in worry until a slight blush seemed to come to his face; he looked the other way though and found his shoes to be very interesting. Tucker watched them both and noticed Danny get flustered; however, Tucker could tell what was happening and he had to remind himself to breathe for a second. _Danny… are you trying to make yourself say something? Oh dude, I know you can do it! I'll figure out a way to push him… maybe both of them._ He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed Sam and Danny staring at him with disturbed look on their faces.

"What!?" Tucker questioned.

"You seriously had a creepy look on your face," Sam muttered.

Danny laughed.

"I was just thinking about something, that's all…" Tucker chuckled.

"Weirdo," Sam grumbled.

"Hey, I resent that!"

The trio made their way to school and walked up the steps of Casper High with some of the _early_ students, which was weird and quite the rarity.

"Huh, it's-" Danny started before Sam clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't jinx it. Don't say a word Danny. No one mention anything about what's weird here, okay?" Sam spoke.

Tucker nodded, not wanting to renew in his title of Bad Luck Tuck anytime soon. Danny nodded slowly.

"Mmmph?"

"Oh right, sorry," Sam blushed and pulled her hand away. She then mumbled, "You have stubble."

Danny chuckled nervously, "Yeah I uh… figured that out the last couple days. Guess even I had to grow some at some point."

"Ah man. I still only have some peach fuzz still… but you'll see! It'll come and it'll be magnificent," Tucker boasted as the trio reached their lockers.

Sam closed her hand and dropped it as she got to her locker. For some odd reason she couldn't stop thinking about the feel of his minute stubble underneath her fingers.

"Valerie?"

"I'll see ya later Star. I needed to talk with Danny, Sam, and Tucker."

Danny glanced over his shoulder with Sam and Tucker to see Star looking at Valerie and then them before shrugging. "Alright then, see ya. Later guys." Star waved briefly and walked off.

"Huh, she actually noticed we existed," Tucker mumbled.

Valerie walked up after hearing Tucker's words. "Star's actually not too bad… Not as bad as some of the others anyways."

"Morning," Sam said a bit awkwardly and Danny nodded and smiled.

Valerie smiled. "Morning guys."

"Welcome to our happy and completely crazy little family I guess," Danny chuckled and shut his locker.

"Ah I knew it! We had to be brothers in another life time." Tucker grinned and clapped a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Destiny, Tuck. Destiny." Danny grinned back.

"You two are complete goofs." Sam sighed but couldn't hold back a laugh.

"First period today is Lancer and English, right?" Valerie asked.

"Yep, we had an assignment for reading Hamlet, I think?" Tucker questioned as the four friends turned and started walking towards Lancer's classroom.

"Yep, still don't think I'll ever get used to Old English though. Even when ghosts speak it sometimes," Danny laughed.

"Hey, can't be any worse than Esperanto, hm?" Tucker pressed.

"Esperanto?" Valerie questioned.

"It's an artificial language from the 1800s. It's the only language one of our friendly ghost pals speaks, except some extremely broken english phrases. I learned it and taught Danny and Sam taught herself some so we could talk to him better when he pops up." Tucker explained.

"His name's Wulf," Danny nodded.

Valerie looked at the ground. "There _are_… good ghosts?"

Danny sighed in exasperation.

"I meant other than you," Valerie mumbled in slight irritation.

"Yes, Valerie. We have allies in the Ghost Zone. Most non-malevolent ghosts don't wish to leave the Zone." Danny smiled and then seemed to remember something. He looked at Sam and Tucker.

"Oh! We need go see Hakan sometime. He invited me to see his Lair. I'd imagine you guys would be welcome. He kinda is a bit blunt about me being caught in limbo and being not 'natural' but he's still pretty neat and of course he's a pretty great teacher for Pyrokinesis." Danny grinned.

"Wait, whoa. Pyrokinesis?" Valerie asked, "Since when?"

"Remember Skulker the other day?" Danny asked.

"Wait that comet like move you did?"

"I kinda didn't know what was happening at that point. I saw him aim at Sam and Tucker and I saw red… or well orange."

"Oh. So what exactly can you do?" Valerie asked.

"I'll tell you or show you some time." Danny nodded. Suddenly he slammed into a wall of person. "Uuf!-"

"Hey there, Fentonia."

"Uugh," Danny groaned in annoyance, "Hey Dash."

Valerie looked like she was going to have an embolism until Tucker placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head sadly. Another wave of harsh reality smothered her. _He can't fight back… or they would know._

"I have a test later today in Math."

"Yeah?"

"And I'm mad about it and I'll probably be mad afterwards too, so I thought about it and realized I had two big reasons to give you some trouble, hm?" Dash grinned mockingly.

"Good for you, Dash," Danny growled. His face adopted a look of brief shock when Dash slammed him into the lockers behind him. A small crowd started to form, Kwan and Paulina were there.

"Was that sarcasm, Fenton?" Dash hissed.

Danny frowned. "Wow, didn't know you knew that word, Dash. I'm actually impressed for once."

A chorus of Ooos echoed through the hall.

"Do you have a death-wish, Fentoad?" Dash growled.

Tucker had to slap his hands over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud at the irony.

"You have no idea, Dash." Danny shook his head. "Just get to it, will ya?" Danny didn't expect the punch he got to the gut. "Hunmph-" Danny wheezed mostly in surprise rather than pain like most would expect, but Dash and most everyone else didn't notice that.

"Watch yourself Fenton. I'm getting tired of you stepping out of bounds." Dash smirked.

"I'm so so sorry that I've finally grown too tall to fit conveniently into lockers anymore Dash, but you should blame puberty not me," Danny replied.

Dash frowned. "A swirly is always an option." A smirk returned to his face.

Danny didn't reply.

"Just drop Danny and let's go to Lancer's, Dash. God, don't you have something better to do with your life?" Sam growled. Dash whipped around and glared at Sam before looking back over at Danny sideways.

"Must stink having to have a girl stand up for you. I mean… what kind of man are you?" "HAHaaahhheee!" Dash suddenly screamed like a girl when Sam kicked him in the privates, as restrained as she possibly could.

"Not a stupid one to say something like that with Sam nearby?" Danny questioned and rose a brow. He then grimaced and looked at Sam. "Was _that_ really necessary?"

"He brought it on himself," Sam shrugged and a few people started to snicker in the crowd.

"_War and Peace_! People, control yourselves!"

Everyone in the hallway turned and saw Mr. Lancer standing there with his hands on his hips.

"Uh…" Sam and Danny paused and glanced at each other nervously.

"All of you need to get to class! Those that _should _be in my room, come on!" Lancer spoke.

Dash tried to speak but was still having difficulties taking in air.

Lancer sighed. "No buts, Mr. Baxter."

Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie walked away whistling and Dash, Kwan, and Paulina eventually followed, though Dash was limping and quite angry.

zzz

"So what does Yorick actually represent in Hamlet?" Lancer asked and turned back to look at his students from the board. Most of them were obviously tuning most of what he was saying out, with the exceptions of Sam, Mikey, and maybe Valerie. He glanced over and saw Danny looking out the window in what seemed to be thought.

"Your thoughts, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer droned and raised a brow at the look of surprise on Danny's face.

"Uh… huh?"

A few people snickered and this made Danny shift a bit in his seat.

"Yorick? What does he represent, Daniel?"

Danny looked into Lancer's eyes for a brief moment and something Lancer saw there seemed to surprise him, though he couldn't say what it was he saw. Danny turned to look back out the window.

"It's the moment that Hamlet realizes that death comes to us all. He looks death in the face and realizes he needs to do what he can while he has the chance. He also realizes that the things he chooses to do don't need to be about wealth or vanity, because he reflects on the idea that someone like Yorick and Alexander the Great both became bones and dust eventually no matter what they'd been in life."

Lancer blinked in surprise and then smiled and nodded, "Very good Mr. Fenton. Indeed-" He turned around and started writing on the board again, "Yorick is the turning point in the play as well. The moment Hamlet realizes death is very very common…"

Danny clutched his desk when a wisp of blue fled from his mouth; he raised his hand. Mr. Lancer was still talking and writing on the board and didn't notice. Danny waved it more dramatically and tried to lean a bit before he fell out into the space between rows of desks, making a clatter. Lancer whipped around as some people, namely the A-listers, started to laugh.

Sam, Tucker, and Valerie were looking at Danny and Lancer frowned. "_Tom Sawyer_, Daniel. What on earth are you doing?"

"Uhh…" Danny blinked. His shirt had risen up slightly from his position and one could see a bit of his developing stomach muscles. Sam had to hold back a growl when she noticed a random girl look and then whisper something to Paulina. "I… Can I go to the bathroom?"

Lancer sighed with impatience. "Go ahead, Mr. Fenton."

Danny leapt up and ran out of the door. Valerie glanced at Sam and Tucker and they shook their heads. She tightened her hand around her pencil and tried to relax.

zzz

Danny ran out of the classroom and glanced one way and then the other before running into the boy's restroom and locking himself in a stall. He transformed and then flew out of the building to look around. He barely had the chance to dodge some sort of liquid from striking him. He whipped around after ducking and saw the Ghost Snake he'd fought a few times before. It's hood was spread wide and it hissed before spitting what was most likely ghost snake venom of some sort at Danny. He shot to the side to avoid it again.

"Whoa, that's a new trick."

The snake then rose itself to his level by using more of it's body to stand higher off the ground.

"Huh, you're really like one of those spitting cobras all muscle and such. I better remember how far you can strike, huh?" Danny smirked and vanished before appearing behind the snake and blasting it with a few Ecto-blast shots. A few people on the streets next to the school, stopped to watch their hero fight the snake. A small time news-reporter, tasked with keeping up with his exploits until something happened different from the norm, got to the street with her camera man and started filming and narrating what was going on. Danny ignored them as he focused on freezing the snake's head solid. and then flew down to grab his tail. He started to swing the monster of a reptile and then released him into the sky.

"Ally-oop!" Danny grinned and shot into the air after the snake to punch the ice block, causing it the shatter. The snake seemed to be dropping to the earth limply, but the tip of its tail grabbed Danny's leg before it struck the ground. "Aah!" The tail fell and then slammed him into the earth beside the serpent. Danny recovered quick and jumped back into a back-hand spring to dodge a open-mouthed lunge from the snake. He then shot several small blasts of Ecto-energy from his index fingers and the snake, wounded further, crashed to the ground on its belly. Danny whipped out the Fenton Thermos and spun it before uncapping it and sucking the unconscious snake inside. "Gotta be faster at the quick draw, pal."

A few cheers came from the small amount of people on the street and Danny waved and smiled modestly before disappearing and flying back towards school. He landed in the restroom and in the same stall. He transformed, flushed and then washed his hands and ran back to class to catch the last few minutes of Lancer's lecture. His hair was a bit disheveled and he was pretty sure his elbow and knee was a bit bloody, but they had both started to scab up by the time he returned inside.

"So no Kwan, Hamlet and the Lion King, though they have some similarities, do NOT have the same exact story. There are some large differences if you know where to look," Lancer grumbled and then the bell rang. As everyone rose to leave, Lancer spoke up, "A want a two page paper on your reactions to Hamlet. Involve imagery, symbolism or themes in some way."

A few people groaned in annoyance, but everyone eventually left for second period. Lancer noticed Danny and his friends leave and took note that yet again, the young Fenton looked like he'd been mugged in the restroom. Lancer frowned. Does he get ambushed by other bullies from other classes? It seemed to be unlikely that someone was there every time he went to the bathroom. What was it about those three, Danny… Sam… Tucker… and why in the world was Valerie acting so close to them and walking with them? Lancer had known that Daniel and Valerie had dated for a time, but this had seemed to happen over night. Finally, the teacher reflected on how Daniel had answered the question about Yorick; he seemed familiar with the subject of death, like he could sympathize with Hamlet or something. Lancer would've expected that sort of response and emotion from Samantha not Daniel, who, though he had his cynical moments, was mostly an optimistic boy.

It was their class's Senior year, after the school year ended, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie would be out of his reach. Lancer wanted to know, he wanted to understand, and he wanted to help.

If only he knew how.

zzz

The group's second and third period were normal if boring. They found each other at Lunch and went outside to sit at their bench.

"So what ghost was it, Danny?" Tucker asked as he bit into some of his sandwich.

"Oh, just the Ghost Snake. Did you guys know it can spit venom? It can totally do that now," Danny rambled and took a bite of his own sandwich.

Sam pulled out her lunchbox and started on an orange. Danny leaned over and took a bite out of her orange after placing a slice of his apple next to her lunch bag.

"What you need some Vitamin C?"

"Naw, just variety."

Tucker snuck a bit of ham out of Danny's sandwich while his friend was looking away, before Danny snatched one of the sausages in Tucker's bag by turning his hand intangible.

"Darn, thought I got you that time."

"I've got eyes in the back of my head, Tuck."

"What, you mess up duplication again?"

Sam started to laugh a bit at Tucker's actually decent jab and Danny laughed sarcastically. "Ha, ha, ha."

Valerie pulled her tray to it's position in front of her and shook her head at her friends' behaviors. It would take a while before she knew them like they knew each other.

"You need to add that snake venom thing to your files," Sam replied and then glanced at Valerie's tray of lunch food, "Uh, you sure you wanna eat that?"

Valerie blinked and then frowned in slight confusion. "It's what I always eat, why?"

Danny and Tucker glanced at each other and Danny sighed before telling a very interesting story about what was actually in the school refrigerators. By the end of it, Valerie looked as though she would be sick and slid the tray of 'food' away from her.

"I will never look at that stuff the same way again," she sighed, "Guess no Lunch for me today." She was shocked when after Danny, Sam, and Tucker glanced at each other, she found a half a sandwich, a pear, and a water bottle in front of her. Tucker, who always brought two sandwiches, gave her one of his halves since he'd already finished the first and started on the other half. Sam had offered a pear and Danny had a spare bottle of water on him. She glanced up at them all gratefully and also in confusion. "Just… just like that?"

Danny smiled. "Just like that." Sam and Tucker were smiling as well.

Valerie nodded. "Thanks." Valerie noticed Sam glancing at Danny's elbow. Danny followed Valerie's gaze and saw Sam.

"What?" Danny asked his friend.

"You got injured from that snake," Sam grunted.

"Yeah his tail snagged me and sent me into the ground once," Danny answered.

"Is that all you got from it?" Sam asked.

"I think my knee's a bit scuffed up, but it's not really that big a deal. You know I've seen much worse," Danny replied. "What's the matter?"

"Love that's what," Tucker and Valerie answered at the same time and glanced at each other in surprise and then slight embarrassment. Danny and Sam's cheeks turned red.

"We aren't lovebirds!" They both shouted. They happened to glance at each other and they turned away. Danny seemed to realize they were doing the same thing again and started to turn to say something, making Tucker lean a bit over the table in excitement…

Then a wisp of blue came from Danny's mouth.

"I am the Box Ghost! BEWARE!"

Everyone in the courtyard screamed and ran away except for Danny's group. Danny growled and looked around before Sam and Valerie gave him cover to transform. He shot into the air with a scowl on his face. The Box Ghost seemed spooked by the anger on Danny's face and shot off screaming with Danny on his tail.

Tucker growled after Danny was gone and threw his beret to the ground and shouted, "Of all the crummy luck."

Sam raised her brow in confusion, not realizing what had maybe almost happened, while Valerie just shook her head.

zzz

Finally a couple hours later, school was over for the day. Danny, Tucker, and Sam said goodbye to Valerie at school before taking their walk home. They promised to plan something fun for Saturday since tomorrow they were planning to visit Hakan in the Ghost Zone, maybe take Valerie and Jazz, and let Danny train with the fire master.

Tucker was the first to say goodbye and turned down the block to his home. That left Danny and Sam walking towards her mansion.

There was an odd silence between the two friends as they walked. Danny took a glance over at Sam when she wasn't looking and looked her over. She was so pretty and, much like him, had grown the last year or so. Her hair was a lovely ebony that was probably really soft and her eyes seemed to always captivate him. He blushed a bit and glanced away. She was such a loyal person, practical and determined. The thing though that he loved most about her was how much she cared for him regardless of what he was and her strong sense of character and independence. How could he explain his feelings to her just suddenly? How? He was her friend and by his track record so far he was pretty certain he didn't know how to attract girls to him for long. In his mind, he stood no chance.

Sam glanced over and caught the last cues from Danny that he had just looked at her. She blushed faintly and looked at him from the corner of her eyes. How much she hoped to one day be his. She almost loathed herself for such a desire, if only for the simple reason of how sappy that sounded. She'd always loved his clumsiness, his eyes, his hair, everything… Of course she'd noticed that he'd grown. In fact, so many people saw how he'd grown… only they'd seen it in his Phantom persona and not as much with Fenton. His hazmat suit had always conformed to his body, and that was still the case now. From all his ghost hunting and work, he'd gained muscle and even had the very start of a hint at a six pack. All of that was mostly hidden by his t-shirts and sweaters though as Fenton. But putting everything all aside, the thing she loved the most about Danny, with all his flaws and good points alike, was his heart. She'd known early on that he had a very kind heart, especially if he'd ever become friends and excepting of someone like her, not that Tucker wasn't the same in that respect, but Danny just had a part of him that wanted desperately to believe in the best of every person or ghost. This was also one of the reasons she would never abandon him for being what he was and it was maybe that part of him that made him a hero in the first place. Anyone else might have lost it long before or come up with their own idea of justice with the power of ghost abilities at their disposal, but Danny, minus a few pranks and such, had never done that, unless you counted the timeline that never happened with Dan. How could she ever be what he deserved? How?

They finally reached Sam's mansion. The two were still quiet and then both tried to speak at the same time.

"Sam/Danny I-"

They both blushed and glanced away. Danny looked back up and opened his mouth.

"Sam?"

"Yes, Danny?" Sam asked quietly and with hope.

"I…" Danny suddenly felt his courage disappear. He swallowed dryly and took a shaking breath. "I'll see ya tomorrow." He felt like kicking himself when he saw her face fall a bit.

"Oh… oh okay, yeah… I guess I'll see you then." Sam smiled, even if it wasn't heartfelt. She disappeared into her home before Danny could even reply. He turned around and started walking towards his home, smacking himself in the head and cursing himself for his cowardice.

"Nice going Fenton… You let the girl you really like slip out of your grasp again."

Danny eventually got home and had a nice meal with his family, that for once didn't have ectoplasm in it or was trying to eat _them._ He told Jazz about their plans for tomorrow and did _some_ homework before having to go out and hunts ghosts.

zzz

The next day at school wasn't near as good as the two previous for Danny. Because he'd had to battle ghosts last night until four in the morning, he'd not gotten enough sleep nor finished his homework for History or Math. Valerie had appeared around two o' clock in the morning to help with Klemper and Skulker. She'd left afterwards and so had Danny thinking they were done only for Johnny Thirteen to find Danny on the way back home and mess with him, and driving off after Danny had asked him to go back to the Zone. It had taken an extra hour to convince Johnny to go back and talk it out with Kitty and as said before, Danny had made it back to bed at four. After getting grief from his teachers and then being ambushed with Tucker by Dash and Kwan and two other jocks Tyson, a dark-skinned football player and Alroy, a red-headed green eyed boy, and given swirlies, Danny was in a grumpy mood. He was relieved to find himself walking towards his home, after school, at the beginning of a weekend, with his friends.

"I'm really excited to see what you guys think of Hakan. He's kinda wise like Clockwork," Danny spoke.

"So Clockwork is really a ghost that can control time?" Valerie asked.

"Yep, he's what everyone calls Father Time," Tucker replied as he typed something on his PDA.

"All this time a ghost like that. I guess it really does mean a portion of ghosts-" Valerie started.

"Are good and just want to be left alone." Danny nodded, finishing her thought.

The conversation came to a close when the four friends reached Fenton Works. Danny pulled out his house key and let everyone inside.

"Hey mom, dad, Jazz! I'm home! I've got my friends with me!" Danny called out.

There was a crash from the lab and after a couple moments, Jack was at the top of the stairs to the lab, grinning.

"Hey there, Danny-boy! Sam, Tucker, and uh…"

"Valerie," Valerie nodded.

"Valerie! Jazzy-pants, you too!" Jack grinned.

The others noticed that Jazz had come down from her room and was standing next to them.

"This is great! Mads and I just completed a new invention! Now we've got some people to see it first hand," Jack bellowed and started pushing the whole group gleefully towards the lab steps.

"Uh uh dad? I don't know if they wanna see-" Danny started but his father interrupted him.

"Nonsense Danny-boy!" Jack smiled. "Who wouldn't want to see how they're being protected from ghost scum?"

Valerie saw Danny flinch at the term even if only subconsciously.

They finally found themselves in the lab. Maddie was holding something that looked like the Ghost Gloves.

"See everyone? The Ghost Gloves are really powerful, but seem to only be useful for punching and holding weaker ghosts, so we thought it would be a good idea to give them a bit of an upgrade! Now they can pull overshadowing ghosts right out of people and if used right they can rip a ghost right in two!" Jack blabbered.

Maddie gave a bright smile and pressed a button, making sharp claws extend from the gloves' ten finger tips. Sam was certain that Danny had stopped breathing. She could see Danny's face losing all color. Thank God for Jazz.

"Um, that's great mom, dad, but we need to go and study for something, so we'll have to learn more about it later!" Jazz said, trying to keep her voice from getting to high as she ushered everyone up the stairs, out of the lab, and upstairs again into her room, leaving her parents to look at each other in slight confusion before shrugging and returning to their work.

In Jazz's room everyone was trying to get Danny to breathe again.

"It's okay Danny, it's just another weapon," Jazz soothed.

"Yeah dude, just relax and breathe! You need oxygen eventually," Tucker pressed. Danny could hold his breath much longer than normal humans. Because at least half of the material in his blood was ectoplasm, he didn't need as much oxygen to run his body's systems, his ectoplasm did the rest. He could hold his breath and speak underwater for long periods of time because of this as well.

Sam frowned and slapped Danny's back making him take a large intake of air. The color flushed back into his cheeks and he started breathing rapidly. His eyes seemed to snap from their glazed look and his pupils went from greatly dilated to normal. He leapt to his feet from his sitting position on Jazz's bed, surprising everyone.

"It's not just some other weapon, Jazz! And I can't relax, Tuck! That thing… That weapon! It's what helped create _him_!" Danny growled out angrily, but everyone in the room knew it was to hide the pure terror inside him at the moment.

Valerie watched in obvious confusion, but did worry at how her friend was upset.

"Danny, notice the different though? You told us _Vlad_ was supposed to be the one to have that weapon, not your parents," Sam replied and grabbed his wrist to make him pay more attention to her. She needed to give him contact so he could at least start to calm down.

"What's to say Vlad won't steal it though!? Or worse… what if… what if my parents… on accident… or even on… purpose-" Jazz saw Danny visibly gag once and clap a hand over his mouth.

"Sam take him to the bathroom, he's over exciting himself. This anxiety is going to make him sick," Jazz spoke and helped her direct Danny to the restroom. Tucker and Valerie heard a gag and then a sign that Danny had puked once. Jazz came back into the room and sighed.

Valerie turned to Tucker, "Does he act like this every time his parents make a new weapon? I mean I understand his obvious anxiety, but… surely he can't be living like this in constant fear like _that._"

Tucker shook his head, "No, actually most of the time, Danny tries to laugh about most of the inventions his parents make. He takes note of what they're making and such and usually can exploit a flaw or two from anything they have." Tucker's face grew darkened. "It's just that particular weapon… with claws coming out of it is linked to a particular fear of Danny's."

"Oh, what's that?" Valerie asked.

Tucker shook his head. "This particular one… Danny hasn't even told us _all _the details. He hasn't said he hasn't told, but we know he hasn't. For now just know it has something to do with Clockwork."

Valerie nodded and remained silent. Danny eventually came back in with Sam helping him; she had her arm around his back and her hand touching his waist as a comfort and even Tucker didn't tease her for it for now.

"Sorry guys… I didn't mean to flip out like that," Danny mumbled.

"No worries, dude. I mean I hate the H word I certainly would be afraid of something tearing into me." Tucker nodded.

"That's not helping Tuck," Danny grumbled.

"H word?" Valerie asked.

"Hospital," Sam replied with a tiny cruel smile on her face.

"Sam!" Tucker whined and pulled his legs up onto Jazz's bed and hugged them.

Jazz interrupted their talking. "We'll if we're still visiting Hakan, need to figure out how to get into the Ghost Zone with our parents basically guarding it."

Danny smiled. "I'd guess they'd want a chance to use their new weapon."

Tucker calmed himself and then grinned. "I gotcha. How about I send a completely anonymous hint to the news station that Technus was spotted somewhere."

"Sounds good, I'll tell mom and dad to look at the news when we know it's on." Jazz nodded.

"Okay…" Tucker murmured and started typing furiously on his PDA, "Alright and sent! You can go to your parents now, Jazz."

Jazz nodded and ran downstairs. After a moment, the other four heard Jack's shout of "GHOST!", before a bit of noise and other loud talk indicated Jack and Maddie had run out the front door. During the time Tucker and Jazz had been setting their plan into action, Danny had tried to meditate if only briefly to get over some of the stress he'd experienced that day.

Jazz ran up the stairs and grinned. "Let's go!"

And so they did. They left a note saying that they were going to the Nasty Burger and to hang out a while, and then took off into the lab and boarded the Spector Speeder.

zzz

Danny clicked a few more buttons as Tucker got prepared to drive. Danny was acting as co-pilot at the moment and the girls were in the back. They had discovered over time that it was often best not to have Danny drive, not because he couldn't, but because he might need to fly out to fight a ghost at any time. Jazz was sitting between Sam and Valerie and noticed Valerie's unease when Danny finished setting things up and went to press the button that would open the portal.

"What wrong?" Jazz asked calmly.

Valerie looked at her and sighed, "I've only been in the Ghost Zone once before and it wasn't a pleasure experience. I guess I'm just nervous about it."

"Don't worry about it. It's a bit odd at first but once you've been in it enough times, it's really not that bad, even a little beautiful in some places, emphasis on _some_." Jazz nodded.

Valerie let out a calming breath and nodded back. "Okay, I'm ready."

The Speeder jerked a bit and they soon were slipping through the portal. Valerie took the time to really look around at the green sky and floating islands. Tucker increased their speed and they started moving quickly in the direction that would take them near Clockwork's. On the way, Danny pointed out Frostbite's domain, Pandora's, and Dora's, telling Valerie a little about them and how they were allies. Danny eventually got the opportunity to point at Clockwork's tower and then Tucker waited for Danny to direct them towards Hakan's lair, which they'd never visited before. Danny leaned up and motioned to a set of mountains.

"He said just the other side of the those," Danny spoke.

Tucker nodded and the Speeder darted that direction. Before long they could see a rocky gorge and a single Teepee in an odd place on a ledge. They landed and found a place to park the Speeder before gathering some necessities and making their way towards the Teepee.

"This must be his Lair entrance," Danny noted as they got into place and looked over the small home.

"So what do we do? Go in?" Valerie asked.

Danny shook his head. "We have to be invited." He walked forward and called inside, "Hakan! It's me, Danny. I brought some friends to visit! We can leave though if this isn't a good time."

"Ah… child. Come in all of you, welcome."

Danny nodded to everyone and ducked to move through the opening in the TeePee. Sam followed then Jazz and Valerie and Tucker brought up the rear.

zzz

Everyone paused in wonder at the scene around them. The inside of Hakan's lair was a visage of a great green valley. A waterfall fell from a canyon behind the TeePee and a second TeePee was resting not too far away. Hakan was sitting on the grass; his legs were crossed instead of having his ghost tail like Danny had seen him with, as he inhaled a breath of smoke from his pipe.

"Greetings, children."

"Hello."

"Hi."

"What's up?"

"Nice to meet you."

"Hey again, Hakan," Danny smiled.

Hakan gestured towards the valley as a large bird of prey took flight from a nearby tree and a snort of a Buffalo could be heard from someplace. "What do you think?"

Sam walked up and was smiling. "It's gorgeous."

"You are one that appreciates nature and the balance, correct child?" Hakan asked with a smile.

Sam nodded. "Absolutely."

Hakan chuckled, "That's a bit better than I can say for your friend here." He glanced at Danny and Sam's face immediately fell. "He mocks the balance by simply being…"

"Harsh." Tucker grimaced. Valerie seemed frustrated and Jazz was frowning.

Danny shrugged. "It wasn't my choice."

Hakan smiled at Danny and shook his head. "Perhaps…"

Danny was going to ask what he meant by that, but Hakan interrupted.

"Let us go to the mountains up there. Would be a shame to burn anything up, hm?"

Everyone agreed and Danny transformed before helping everyone up, following Hakan. They landed on a rocky plateau.

"Make sure your friends stay far enough away. Though these flames are not normal flames, they can burn just as badly and even more than normal fire; they can also leave spiritual wounds that medicine cannot heal." Hakan warned.

Danny gulped slightly and asked everyone to step back further. He nodded to Hakan once he was facing him again.

"Okay let's start with making sure you have complete control of your core changing. Go from cold to hot as evenly and as repetitively as you can, go." Hakan spoke before exhaling a puff of smoke.

Danny focused and soon his friends could feel an extra bit of heat radiating towards them, then as soon as it was there, it was gone. Danny switched from his normal cold core to his hot core several times.

"Okay, that's good, enough," Hakan commanded and Danny stopped. "So to start with, you remember that anger and the eternal fire are linked. Most unrighteous ghosts use anger or fury from injustices done against them or from anger at their life ending too soon. For the righteous though it is important to use something else as the fuel for the flames. You must look deep inside for ambition or your fighting spirit. Most see fire as purely destructive, purely evil, but spirits like me and people as I once was, know that fire can also create new life and do good. Daniel, after you switch to your hot core, I need you to look deep inside and find something to fuel the fire."

Danny nodded and switched to his heat core.

"First pull the heat inside. Your flames will be weaker if you're loosing so much heat through the air around you." Hakan instructed.

Danny nodded and took in a breath which helped him pull the heat closer to himself. The others could no longer feel the heat around them anymore.

"Good… now you must ignite those flames inside with something. Over time you'll be able to conjure those emotions without having to completely imagine something, but until that comes, think about what will be your fuel."

Danny closed his eyes and started to think.

ooo

He started trying to think about something ambitious, like his dreams of wanting to be an astronaut. Then when that seemed to not be enough, he thought about his desire to protect Amity Park. He could feel the fire inside start to burn stronger and he thought for certain he had it until suddenly the fire halted. He could feel something else; a feeling curling around his chest. A single dreaded word echoed in his head.

_Why?_

He heard it again with more clarity.

_Why should I do this anymore?_

Suddenly he couldn't stop the wave of emotions flooding into him. He could remember the look of disgust on his parents' faces when they shot at him, the hate on Valerie's before she knew, Vlad's mocking voice and smirk after doing something to make Danny's life a bit more difficult, he could see the students at Casper High laughing at him after falling to the floor, the Mansons shouting out hate about ghosts, Lancer giving him a poor grade, the GiW looking at him as though he had done some horrible thing by simply taking a breath, and even Hakan… saying he was a disturbance.

_Why should I care? They don't…_

He lost all sense of control when the flames burst out from his form in his mind.

ooo

Danny was pretty silent from his friends' point of view before his started to tremble and then growl.

"Danny?" Sam questioned in worry and took a step closer.

Hakan simply continued to watch silently and took another intake of smoke from his pipe. Danny suddenly roared in rage and white fire ignited on the very tips of his hair and across his shoulders before he aimed and fired a stream of them into the sky from his hands.

"Why!? WHY SHOULD I!? WHY!?" Danny raged and pulled his arms back closer to himself again, trembling.

"Danny!" Jazz yelped in surprise, being the only one not shocked enough to speak. He turned slowly to face them and they gasped. His irises were flashing red and green, switching between the two.

Hakan finally moved forward. Danny actually growled at him and Sam thought for a brief moment she saw his canines were slightly longer than normal, but she shook her head and didn't see it anymore. Hakan swiftly, almost faster than the eye could follow, phased his pipe halfway into Danny's chest, causing his friends cry out in alarm.

"What the heck!?" Tucker yelped.

"What's wrong with you!?" Sam shouted.

Hakan remained silent and tapped the pipe twice as Danny tried in vain to pull it out. Danny shuttered and soon he started to revert to his normal ghost form as smoke poured out from Hakan's pipe and spiraled into the sky. Danny fell to his knees and Hakan removed the pipe from Danny.

"Very sad… I'm not sure you'll ever amount to much of a fire user. You have too much rage and I refuse to teach one who can find no drive except rage. You completely lost control. Why Clockwork keeps harboring something like you is beyond my understanding," Hakan grumbled.

Danny was looking up at him at first before he bowed his head in shame. "I… I thought… I thought I almost had it… I was so close-"

"Good intentions are worthless and only become lies," Hakan snapped.

"Stop it!" Sam shouted and jumped in front of Danny. Jazz, Tucker, and Valerie soon followed.

"And I thought you were going to be fun to meet, after all the good things Danny said about you! I've changed my mind!" Jazz snapped.

Hakan seemed to ignore them and shook his head, "Such rage…"

"Shut-up!" Sam snapped in anger.

"Yeah, leave Danny alone! You don't know what he's been through, what we've been through!" Tucker argued.

Danny was listening to them speaking and suddenly he was brought inside himself again.

ooo

_Why?_

He could hear his friends arguing with Hakan as the ghost calmly answered their responses and didn't seem troubled.

_Why?_

He could see Sam waving her arms in aggravation and shouting in his defense.

_Why?_

He could feel two great powers of some sort swirling inside him. He felt anger inside and then… A flash of calm flooded him. He could see the smiles on his parents faces even when they had invented something to try and unknowingly destroy him with, he could see Lancer praising him or worrying about him, he could see his friends, family, concerned for him, the citizens concerned when he got hurt fighting, but most importantly… he remembered the feeling of doing something kind even when he used to be the most despised ghost in Amity… before Pariah Dark… he remembered the drive and the desire to protect as soon as he realized what he could do with these powers he'd been given.

_Because… I want to protect…_

_Because… I want to love…_

_Because… I got a second chance to live… I want to give everyone that chance too._

He felt a new kind of warmth now. It wrapped around his hot core and floated like light.

ooo

"So don't berate him for being a bit angry!" Sam shouted, finishing her rant towards Hakan, who was still just as stone-faced as he'd been before. Everyone's attention was turned back to Danny when Jazz gasped.

Danny was kneeling and his eyes were no longer glazed over from being 'not present' and his irises were orange; in his cupped hands was a bright ball of orangish fire with white ascents. He slowly rose his face to look at Hakan.

"They aren't intentions to be broken… It's what I've always wanted from the start. It's my promise I made."

Hakan glanced over the determined look on Danny's face and looked at the fire in Danny's hands before shaking his head. "I simply don't understand it. Two elements like the earth and heavens… the body and spirit should cause chaos when so closely forced together. How you defy that…"

Danny continued to look up at him.

"You have found your reason. It shall be your fuel. You will meditate when needed to keep that other rage under control…" Hakan paused and took a deep exhale, letting smoke flow from his mouth, nose, and even ears. "Now, let's practice how you can use the fire. Anything else afterwards, will be your own practice and of your own creation. I've always believed that every individual should master something in their own way. Are you ready?"

Danny rose to his feet and willed the fireball to fizzle out. He then looked at each of his friends with a grateful glance and then nodded to Hakan, "Let's get started."

zzz

For several hours after that, Danny learned to make fireballs, streams of fire, and blasts of heat from his body. At the very end, Danny surprised even Hakan by using his flames to make himself into a comet like he'd done for Skulker. Hakan reasoned that he was already adding his own twist to using the eternal fire. After a few last bits of advice about meditation methods and limitations to ghostly flame, Hakan said goodbye to Danny and his friends.

With that, Team Phantom made their way through the Ghost Zone and back to Fenton Works. They talked briefly about Hakan and his general personality. While Danny still felt the ghost to be wise if a bit blunt and harsh, his friends were still mad at Hakan for the things he said to Danny. After Danny told them he probably needed that though, they started to see Hakan as mostly good, even if they were still sore about his treatment of Danny in general. Soon they found themselves in the Fenton home, watching the news. Danny and Jazz's parents had returned, after they'd gotten back, fortunately and were back in the lab now.

Danny was gathering everyone's attention though because he had formed a tiny ember of flame in his hand and was playing with it.

"That is just too cool," Tucker grinned excitedly and bounced a bit on the couch.

"It is pretty," Jazz smiled.

Danny smirked, "I was kinda wondering if I could somehow mix the ice and fire together… I don't know if it's possible though since I have to switch cores in order to use my ice powers. The ghost fire, unlike normal fire, melts my ice."

"Yeah, that would be interesting to say the least. I say to wait a bit first though. You still need a good deal of practice before you start experimenting." Sam added.

Danny chuckled and made the ember dance between his palms. "Very true."

Valerie suddenly stood up when and an alarm went off on her watch at the same time a wisp of orange came from Danny's mouth. The news flicked on with an alert.

"_This just in! A dragon ghost has started to attack the downtown area near the mall! As of right now no hunters or Danny Phantom have arrived on the scene. There are no casualties or major injuries as of yet-"_

Danny nodded. "Looks like I get to practice right now. Ready Team Phantom?"

"Ready." Valerie nodded as her suit sprung up around her. Sam, Tucker and Jazz agreed after they grabbed some Wrist Rays, Thermoses, and Jazz grabbed up the Fenton Peeler. Danny transformed as another wisp of orange fled his mouth. His ghost sense's range had gotten wider in recent months which made knowing where ghosts where in the city even easier than before.

"Huh, your ghost sense must be orange when you're using your hot core," Jazz pointed out.

"Yeah, must be. Let's go," Danny replied and took off. Valerie darted off right behind him after getting through the door. Tucker was the one to close the door on the way out. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz jumped on their scooters to go after the other two faster members of their team.

**zzzzzzzzzz**

**So we get a little bit of Valerie getting used to Team Phantom and Danny learns the building blocks of his Pyrokinesis. Finally, the ghost gauntlets… hmmmm…**

**Tell me what you think about the chapter, especially if you're liking how the story is progressing. Ultimately this tale will extend over the duration of their Senior year (excluding Jazz since she's in college), so now we're in October. I'm going to try my best to make any jumps in time as smooth as possible, but I feel like with how jumbled the actual show was with time and such, I'll be fine saying when a couple weeks or a few weeks have passed without anything important happening.**

**zzzzzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**yaissa-chan: Although I have doubts , what will be the role of dani in history ? Please note that the relationship she and danny are father and daughter , I feel that if the series had taken this serious the relationship of the two , although I would like some advice that you will consider.**

**NoSignal: When Dani makes her appearance, it will mostly be a Sibling relationship between Danny and Dani, but a tiny bit of father-daughter, since their relationship is complex. She will be closest to Danny. More detail will be revealed about their relationship when the time comes though :)**

**NoSignal(Span):Cuando Dani hace su aparición , será sobre todo ser una relación de hermanos entre Danny y Dani , pero un poco de padre - hija, ya que su relación es compleja. Ella estará más cerca de Danny . Más detalles se dará a conocer acerca de su relación cuando llegue el momento aunque :)**

**Amber055: Love it, can you have Undergrowth posses Sam again?**

**NoSignal: Something like that will happen, but you'll have to wait and see ;)**

**Thanks everyone so much for your reviews and support in general!**


	4. Where there is a flame

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_The most sublime act is to set another before you." ~ William Blake_

zzz

Danny got to the scene quickly and Valerie wasn't too far behind. He paused in his flight and saw Aragon in his dragon form wrecking the mall. He'd heard Aragon had escaped from Dora's Dungeons some time ago and had been wandering the Ghost Zone looking for a new place to rule. Danny had promised Dora to return him to her if he found her unruly brother. Aragon turned and locked eyes with Danny when a bystander pointed the hero out.

"You!" Aragon roared and turned from the mall and faced Danny and Valerie. He hissed, "I will destroy you for interfering! This world will suffer for influencing my sister!"

Danny crossed his arms, "Dude, you seriously have control issues."

"Silence!" Aragon roared again and then blew bright blue ghost fire from his mouth at the two of them. Danny and the Valerie darted two different directions to dodge the attack and Valerie turned and started to fire missiles at the dragon. They exploded against his scaly skin and he roared in pain, turning to face her. He moved towards her and swatted at her with his claws. She dodged them by dipping and then flying high before firing a few lasers at him. He turned sharply to deflect the attacks with his hard wings. He surprised Valerie by continuing the turn and swatting her harshly with his barbed tail. Valerie yelled out when she was thrown from her board. Danny was going to help when her board shot towards her and saved her from her fall. That slight distraction was all Aragon needed to grab Danny in his claws.

"I shall execute you, knave!" Aragon hissed. He pulled back his head and then blasted Danny and his hands with his own flames. Valerie yelled out in alarm and so did Sam, Jazz, and Tucker when they arrived. Aragon stopped and everyone, watching, waited to see if their hero was no more. Danny was still in the dragon's claws, but he was hardly burnt. Only a few holes were in his suit and he let out a tiny breath of smoke.

"My turn." Danny grinned and then released a wave of fire from his body, burning Aragon's hands and snout. The prince dropped Danny who floated away some. "You aren't the only one who can play with fire any more!" Two balls of fire formed in Danny's hands and he tossed them at the dragon who was still staring at his claws dumbly. The balls of fire exploded against Aragon's right eye and shoulder. He screeched in pain.

"RAAaaaagh!"

Lancer was actually in the crowd along with Dash and Paulina, who'd been hanging out at the mall.

"_Great Balls of Fire_!" Mr. Lancer exclaimed in surprise, "He must've learned a new trick."

"Now he's even hotter than before," Paulina sighed dreamily.

Dash frowned slightly but that only lasted for a second since he was more interested in how awesome his hero was. "He's like ten times _cooler_ than before!"

Everyone ducked slightly when Danny was swatted by Aragon's tail during the battle. He was shot over their heads and slammed into the side of the mall. He fell over onto his hands and knees and Paulina ran up to him.

"Oh! Inviso-bil! Are you okay? Let me help you," Paulia spoke and reached for him, as a few others gathered nearby. Danny had a gash in his side that was dripping ectoplasm and a cut on his left cheek. He looked up at her and shook his head.

"I'm kinda hot at the moment, using my fire. You might burn yourself if you touch me. I'm not practiced enough yet not to accidentally burn people at touch. Ice is one thing, I don't accidentally freeze people who touch me anymore. Fire's kinda new," Danny explained nervously as Paulina still tried to reach for him. He wasn't actually lying but he also didn't want her to touch him. He just didn't like her that way anymore and her view of him even as 'Inviso-bil' bothered him a bit. He flinched when she gasped. His eyes diverted to Valerie and Aragon to see her do some damage to the dragon with a couple more missiles. Jazz blasted Aragon with the Peeler before hiding in an alleyway again. Tucker was giving his sister support and he could see Sam making her way through the crowd; she must be worried that he'd been hurt worst than he had. He glanced back up at Paulina to silently ask for the reason of her gasp.

"You… you have… facial hair?" Paulina asked. Everyone then glanced at him and indeed noticed the small points of white glowing stubble on his chin and jawline. They were very small and only someone like Paulina would be able to notice and bring everyone's attention to it.

"Uhhh yeaaaah?" Danny asked nervously. "Look I need to fight Aragon, later!" He then vanished and appeared up above the group of people before shooting out two streams of fire from his hands at Aragon's back. Paulina sighed dreamily again.

"Stubble? This just keeps getting better and better."

Back with Danny, the dragon hissed in pain and anger from Danny's attack before turning. A blast from Sam's Wrist Ray angered him further and he turned to aim a breath of fire at Sam.

"If you aren't to be my wife, then you shall be no one's!"

Danny gasped and shot down towards Sam. He stopped in front of her, arms and legs wide as a shield as the fire struck him instead. Sam shouted in worry, but stopped short when she saw the blue fires of Aragon's condense at a point before hitting Danny and actually turning into heat and get absorbed into Danny's chest. She shivered when she felt a very brief chill that came and went. She realized he'd switched cores.

"Like I said, control issues! _Someone_ needs to just cool off!" Danny growled and fired two beams of ice at Aragon and forced as much power into it as possible. Aragon roared once, before he was completely frozen. Danny turned and looked at Sam, "Thermos quick! He might break out with his own hot core soon!"

Sam nodded and fiddled with the thermos on her waist before tossing it to Danny. He uncapped the thermos, right when the ice around Aragon shattered. It was too late for the Prince though, because soon, he was being sucked into the Thermos' beam.

"I swear I will get my revenge! I swear it and I will have the perfect human wife!" Danny capped the Thermos and sighed in relief. An eruption of cheers sounded behind him and he let a tiny smile come to his face. He landed on the ground as the free-lance reporter, tasked with getting new info on him, ran up. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz got scarce before that happened, as to not be seen as too involved with him, Valerie however stuck around. She was floating in the air, quietly.

"This is Jessica Stuart live with Danny Phantom after his victory against the dragon ghost!" The reporter started speaking and then turned to point the mike at Danny. "Who is that ghost, why did he attack, and why is the Red Huntress apparently helping you?"

Danny laughed a bit nervously. "Uh, well in order… That ghost is Aragon. He's kinda a mean fellow and doesn't value women's rights too much, the guy died sometime in the Middle Ages. He attacked because I stopped him from kidnapping a human girl for a bride a while back and the Huntress…" Danny turned to look over his shoulder at Valerie, through her visor. "She's kinda got a truce going with me at the moment… We're still kinda rivals, but who knows… maybe we'll become better friends with time."

"One last question, the fire powers…"

Danny could suddenly hear the sound of the Fenton RV approaching, baring his parents, and turned back around and shook his head. "No comment on that for now." He lifted into the air with a smile. "Later everyone." With that he shot up and away following after Valerie as she did the same. Team Phantom was going to meet back up at the Nasty Burger. Danny and Valerie coasted through the sky together on their way there.

"Interesting way of wording our truce there," Valerie spoke.

"Yeah I thought it was best as to not make things too weird… especially for Vlad." Danny paused and looked at her closer. "Are you hurt? I saw Aragon hit you with his tail."

"My suit tends to handle most hits I take, emphasis on most."

Danny nodded in approval and they were quiet again, but happy, until Valerie stopped dead in her tracks.

"OH Crap!" Valerie exclaimed.

Danny stopped in flight and turned to look back at her, "What?"

"It's my dad! How in the world will I explain why I've suddenly started to help Phantom?"

"Hmm… That kinda is a problem. Maybe just say you found he wasn't too bad and are kinda testing it out."

"But he works for Axion which is not only working with your parents in ghost technology for it's supernatural line of products but also with the GiW in… some aspects. He'll be a little worried about me helping a ghost."

Danny tapped his chin and sighed. He then looked back at her and gave a weak smile. "You could say you're studying me."

Valerie gaped. "No… no way. I won't-"

"Valerie, it's okay. I know you aren't really doing that. We can be selective on what you report too so that when he asks for proof if he ever actually does-" Danny snorted, "Then we can."

"But-"

"It's okay. This job is full of compromises, trust me." Danny smirked.

Valerie sighed. "Fine Danny, but I'm not happy about it."

"It'll work, I hope."

Valerie only laughed before following after him to continue their way to the Nasty Burger. Valerie and Danny found a place to transform when they arrived and then met Sam, Tucker, and Jazz in the restaurant. Valerie smiled at them.

"Well I've got the late shift today, so I better go. I had fun guys, the Zone isn't too bad either."

"Alright, Valerie take care."

"See ya!"

"Later."

"Bye, Val."

Everyone paused and looked at Tucker.

"Excuse me?" Valerie asked.

Tucker fumbled, "I just said bye… Valerie."

"That's not-" Valerie started and then shut her mouth and smiled, "Never mind." She turned and walked away after giving them a last wave.

"Smooth," Sam drawled sarcastically.

"Uh-" Tucker started and then Jazz interrupted.

"Well for a first time fighting with your fire powers, you did well little bro." Jazz smiled.

Danny smiled back. "Yeah I guess I did." He went to lean back and flinched in pain.

"Oh! You're still hurt, Danny." Sam spoke up. She could see the bit of blood dotting his t-shirt from a gash that was under his shirt and the cut on his cheek was beaded up with blood, but not running like it had been. He'd healed some already on the way to the Nasty Burger.

"Yeah, but they should heal soon," Danny spoke in response.

"Come on, let's go to Fenton Works and get you patched up some," Sam expressed and pulled him to stand from the bench by his wrist.

"We could you know… stay here if you wanted us to," Tucker spoke and Sam and Danny looked down at him and saw him wiggle his eyebrows suggestively. Sam released Danny's wrist and kicked Tucker's shin, making him cry out.

"I always knew you losers would end up together!"

Danny didn't get to turn before Dash bumped him into the table edge, unknowingly making him slam his gash into it. Danny yelped in pain which surprised Sam, Tucker, and Jazz until Jazz noticed a bit more blood flowing and bleeding onto Danny's shirt. Danny looked over his shoulder to glare at Dash and Kwan. Paulina and Star were behind them.

"Just go shove a burger in your pie-hole Dash," Sam growled.

"Tch whatever. Like I'd listen to you, geek." Dash spoke and then looked over Sam, noticing how she'd grown, "Although, if you wanted to… I might be willing to _honor_ _you_ with my presence at the back table…"

Danny froze up and Sam paused. The back table in the Nasty Burger was where Casper High had assigned for couples to go to eat. They would eat and then slip into the back room to make-out or even hook up. It was one of those weird traditions.

"First off, ew." Sam grimaced. "And secondly, you just hurt my friend, one of my best friends. You think I'd then go do something like that with you?"

Dash growled, "You think you can just talk like that to me?" He then grabbed her wrist. A few other tables of Casper High students noticed and Valerie, behind the order counter took notice too.

Tucker glanced at Jazz nervously when they started to feel heat pouring out of Danny.

"Lay off, Dash!" Danny growled. Sam could feel the heat from him, but only on her back. If he got any closer, she was sure Dash and the others would question the weird temperature difference. She did the first thing she could think off and slammed her combat boot down hard on Dash's foot.

"OOOOWWW!" Dash yelled out and let go of her. Sam stepped back a bit and put a hand on Danny's shoulder. She flinched at the warmth.

"Danny, _cool it_," She whispered, trying to warn him. He glanced at her and seemed to get what she meant. She watched him take a deep breath and the cold she normally felt from him came back. The cold that could easily be, by most people, mistaken for Danny just being a bit clammy. She moved a bit to hide the blood stain on Danny's lower left part of his shirt.

Dash growled, "This isn't over, both of you!" Dash then turned and limped away again, with Kwan right behind him. Paulina gave Sam a dirty look before her eyes trailed over Danny's person longer than Sam liked. Star ran off behind Paulina as the A-listers left. Sam turned and looked at Danny.

"Let's go. You need to change shirts," Sam instructed.

So the four friends left after saying one last farewell to Valerie and got back to Fenton Works. Jazz and Tucker waited in the living room for Sam and Danny to finish cleaning Danny up. Tucker and Jazz watched the two march up to Danny's room.

Tucker turned to Jazz. "How much you wanna bet that when or if he takes his shirt off, Sam and him finally become an item?"

Jazz sighed and shook her head, "Tucker, hormones are powerful things, but not _that_ powerful. Beside that point, you'd be surprised how powerful fear on the psyche can be. They still need more time to feel comfortable about crossing that boundary normally between friends."

"Blah blah, you in or not?"

"In, nothing will happen, _yet_."

"Fine."

zzz

Danny walked towards his bed first and pointed to his bathroom. "My first-aid kit's in there."

Sam nodded and walked that direction and found the small box in one of the drawers under the sink. She came back in the room to see Danny leaning over the drawer of his dresser, trying to find a new shirt. She swallowed thickly, seeing him without his shirt on. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him like this before, occasionally swimming when it was too hot for even him to wear a t-shirt over his torso and well when she would help him with his wounds other times, it was just how'd he'd changed within the last year. He was certainly impressive to say the least with his toned chest, strong stomach, and not as stick-like arms as before; his true growth spurt had really been good to him.

"Sam?"

Sam snapped out of her daze and saw him look at her in confusion and shift nervously; he was still so modest and nervous without his shirt on. He was facing her now and she could clearly see the gash on the lower part of his left side. It had started to have strings of flesh stretching across the wound; this was how Danny's fast healing worked, the skin and flesh almost seemed to meld itself together. It was still weeping though. In his human form, Danny's blood was red, but had a sheen to it like gasoline was mixed in; this was how the ectoplasm appeared in his blood. When he was in ghost form the multitudes of tiny ectoplasm flecks would light up and glow, making his blood look like pure ectoplasm. As for the cut on his cheek, it was already almost done with its scab and part of it was forming a tiny scar where the scab was already gone.

"Sorry Danny. Sit down on the bed and I'll wrap and sanitize the gash on your side. The one on your face looks fine."

Danny nodded and walked over with a dark blue t-shirt in his hand. He sat down and Sam kneeled to spray some disinfectant on the wound. He flinched only briefly but didn't speak as Sam then started to wrap the gauze around his waist.

"I'm going to have to figure out an excuse for the blood on my shirt if mom sees it. I hope I can get in one extra wash for it separate without her knowing," Danny spoke.

Sam nodded and continued her work. Danny looked down at her and saw she was blushing ever so faintly; this made him blush a bit in return. Sam finished and stood as Danny pulled his new shirt over his head.

"Told you they'd be almost healed," Danny chuckled.

"Yeah yeah whatever," Sam grumbled at his tease.

Danny stood and scooped up his dirty shirt and walked out of his room with Sam.

zzz

After Sam and Tucker talked with Danny and Jazz for a bit longer while Danny's shirt washed, the two friends left the Fenton's house. Tucker had seemed to be disappointed by something and hadn't said what was wrong except for an annoyed glanced at Jazz who'd shrugged back at the other boy with a triumphant smile. The two siblings then got ready for the rest of the night.

zzz

Valerie sighed happily when she'd gotten home from work. She dropped off her bag and walked into the living area to find her father sitting with the news on and reading the paper, which she found redundant.

"Hey dad." Valerie smiled at her father and he gave her a smile in return.

"Hello Valerie," Damon spoke as she moved past him. He suddenly put down his newspaper.

Valerie paused in her movement towards their small kitchen. "Is there, something wrong dad?"

Damon smiled and muted the TV. "No dear, I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Valerie nodded. "It's about Phantom, right?"

Damon frowned. "I'm just confused and a bit concerned, that's all. You used to despise him. Not only that, but even though he appears to be a benevolent ghost, he could still be dangerous. So can we at least start with why?"

Valerie walked back over and sighed as she sat in the seat beside her father. "Some things happened recently that made me rethink Phantom's credibility. Things he'd said that turned out to be the truth. So to be honest I'm helping him a bit and just seeing what happens, also I'm trying to use this opportunity to study him a bit. Obviously he's pretty special as far as ghosts go. He did just learn that fire technique not too long ago and he's already got a decent grip on it."

Damon nodded to everything she said and sighed. "I think that's fine, but just be really careful Valerie. Not too long ago, Mr. Masters expressed concern about how manipulative ghosts can be. For all we know, the Fentons are right and Phantom could be jerking us along, until we aren't useful anymore for whatever it is he wants."

Valerie had to bite her tongue to not say anything about Vlad or defending Danny against what her father was saying. She simply agreed to be careful and shared a hug with her father. Afterwards they both enjoyed a nice dinner and a few hours after that, Valerie found herself laying on her bed, facing the ceiling. She glanced over at her bedside table and spotted a very important picture frame. She picked it up and held it in front of her. It was a picture of her mother, a year before she'd passed away.

"Mom… I hope… I hope you're proud of me and that I'm finally doing the right thing."

Soon she was fast asleep with the picture of her mother facing her bed.

zzz

The next day came around and Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie planned to meet up to start a day of fun. Jazz was too busy working again on her second volume of writing in her series on Ghost Envy for a college course she was taking. The first volume which had begun as a College Entrance Thesis had become quite well received and published in several journals. Danny was willing to allow Jazz full access to his Ghost Files during these times and she was very grateful for that.

zzz

The four friends had a plan set down for the day. First they were going to the mall to hang out and shop around, then they planned to go and have some time to enjoy some food in the park, and finally they planned to catch a movie.

"Good thing we kept Aragon from wrecking this place too badly," Tucker spoke as they entered the front of the mall after looking at the cranes and other vehicles that were trying to repair the small amounts of damage to the side of the building.

"That's true," Valerie nodded.

"Yeah, Dora was grateful that we captured him for her." He glanced at each of his friends. "So we wanna split up and check out the places we wanna go?" Danny asked and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Sounds like a good idea. Meet up at the fountain in the center?" Sam asked.

Everyone agreed and walked off. Sam headed towards the Skulk and Lurk with Valerie actually following behind her; she was willing to check the place out if Sam would do the same to the clothing store Valerie had in mind. Danny and Tucker wandered off towards the Video Game store.

zzz

"Wow… I didn't realize how much black could be in one place," Valerie spoke as the two girls walked through the clothing racks and shelfs of memorabilia in the Skulk and Lurk.

"I know… Isn't it great?" Sam said somewhat excitedly.

Valerie smiled a bit. "It's certainly interesting, but I think I'll stick to my style."

"To each their own." Sam nodded and pulled out a dark purple dress with an almost completely open back. "Happy early Birthday to me."

Valerie cocked her eyebrow as she followed Sam up to the check out counter. "Why not just tell your parents what you'd like? Do you always buy your own presents?"

Sam frowned a bit and became slightly irritated. "My parents would never in a million years buy something like this for me. It goes against their perception of beauty and perfection. So I'll buy it for myself."

Valerie nodded. "I guess I understand. Just… you know… don't take your parents for granted, ever."

Sam turned after she finished paying and frowned sadly at Valerie. "I… yeah. I understand."

Valerie smiled. "Okay then, come on. I want to see what you think of my world. Be open, okay?"

Sam sighed. "Okay… just please nothing pink."

"There will be some, but only some," Valerie laughed and that made Sam smile.

zzz

Eventually they found themselves at Abyss, one of the more popular teen clothing stores.

Sam sighed. "I'm going to really hate this."

Valerie chuckled, "Aw, it won't be that bad. Ooh!" Valerie walked over to a rack and found a couple t-shirts and a lovely green summer dress. "I do know the summer dress will be cheaper this time of year. I bet this would be a nice color for you to try." She finished and passed a lavender color dress and then a dark green t-shirt to match the stripes on Sam's skirt.

"Uhh… I don't know…" Sam mumbled. "They're so…"

"Girly? Colorful?" Valerie smirked. "Yeah… kinda the point you know? Hey just think about what Danny will think?"

Sam blushed and shook her head, "Danny… he… he doesn't care about that stuff as much as he used to."

Valerie smiled. "Yeah. He's a good guy, but don't you wanna treat him? Reward him for his loyalty to you?"

Sam frowned. "You're talking almost like we're dating or something."

"Ugh, why aren't you?" Valerie finally said in return.

Sam blushed again, "Well I… I guess…"

"Look I understand you're afraid, but he is too. You both really like each other, go for it!" Valerie spoke out as they neared the changing rooms.

"Well… maybe," Sam murmured.

The two girls disappeared into their separate rooms. After a while, Valerie came out with her choices over her arm having decided on buying the dress an one of the t-shirts.

"Hey Sam, let me see that dress on you," Valerie spoke.

"I don't know… I'm not sure I can do light colors," Sam muttered from behind the door.

"Get out here, girl," Valerie replied and rapped on the door with a smirk on her face.

"Who are you talking to, Valerie?"

Valerie turned and saw Star, Paulina, Kwan, and Dash standing behind her. Star was smiling after she'd spoken, Kwan was smiling too, while Paulina seemed unimpressed and Dash looked a bit bored.

"Oh uh-"

"Fine, I'm coming out. Just don't laugh if this turns out as stupid as I think it will."

Everyone looked at the door and Valerie looked over her shoulder in slight alarm. The changing door creaked open and Sam stepped out.

The lavender dress covered all of her chest and wrapped around her neck like a collar. From there, the dress opened in the back down to the mid back. The rest of the dress simply fell straight to the ground. Sam had removed her ponytail and her ebony hair was resting just below her jawline.

Star gasped, Kwan and Dash's eyes widened ever so slightly and Paulina opened her mouth just the tiniest bit.

"Love of God why are they here?" Sam questioned and glanced at Valerie.

"They just popped up," Valerie replied still a bit surprised. "By the way, it looks wonderful."

Sam looked down at herself and took a breath. "I suppose… I guess I like it. It isn't terrible."

"See? I told you," Valerie smirked.

"Ha ha," Sam replied and rolled her eyes.

Paulina seemed to snap from her stupor. Star was smiling and seemed excited. Kwan and Dash were still looking at her and soon Kwan looked away, letting it go, and Dash stubbornly crossed his arms and glanced away as well.

"So you've finally succumbed and given up your individuality," Paulina spoke and smirked slightly.

Sam glared at her. "No I haven't. I won't ever do that. I'm an open-minded individual I was willing to indulge my friend here."

"Sure… What is it? Are you trying to impress Danny or something?" Paulina asked carefully.

Sam flushed slightly and growled. "That's absolutely none of your business."

"Really? Is that so?" Paulina questioned.

"Yes really," Sam muttered.

"I suppose it might be my business… if I wanted to make a move on him, myself."

Dash tensed up and whipped his head around to look at Paulina. "Say WHAT!? Why would you want to be anywhere near that loser?"

"He is NOT a loser!" Sam hissed.

"I have to wonder… did you somehow know how he'd turn out? Planned ahead and got him wrapped around your little finger? I have to say, I don't think I've even done something so underhanded to get a guy to like me," Paulina spoke and looked at her finger nails.

"Stop right there."

Paulina glanced up and everyone looked at Sam.

"I want you to get something perfectly clear right now, Paulina," Sam spoke and pointed at the other girl, "I have never ever cared about your opinion of me, ever. I won't stand here though and let you stay you think you understand me and Danny's friendship, the same even goes for Tucker. I care about Danny a lot. I care about his wishes, his dreams, his health and his happiness. Unlike you, I wouldn't_ use_ him for my benefit. Danny is a special person… you have no idea. So don't even begin to try and understand our relationship, whether it forever remains on a friend to friend basis or ever becomes something more."

Paulina seemed a bit thrown off before she narrowed her eyes. "This doesn't change _my_ mind. We'll see how well you actually know Danny or boys for that matter."

Star was frowning a bit and gave Valerie a sad look. Kwan glanced at Dash who was steaming slightly.

"Let's go," Paulina spoke and the four teens walked off.

Valerie turned to Sam who was glaring at the popular students as they left, "It'll be okay Sam. Paulina won't even compare to you in Danny's mind."

Sam looked up at her friend and gave a hesitant smile. "You think so?"

"I know so. That phase is over for him. You should've seen the aerial view I had. When Paulina reached out to Danny _Phantom_ when we were fighting Aragon, he moved away like she was a hot iron. Come on, let's pay and find those two goofballs of ours."

Sam cocked a brow. "Goofballs of _ours_? That's quite suggestive… Almost as if you're implying that Danny's mine and Tucker's-"

Valerie's cheeks lit up slightly at the implication and she grit her teeth. "Oh hush! I didn't mean that."

"You're cheeks say otherwise."

"Let's go already."

"Okay okay, let me change."

zzz

"I find the story mode in Rainforest Destruction Two to be lacking compared to the first installment, even if the graphics were far superior," Mikey expressed in earnest. He, Lester, and Tucker were standing and talking about their opinions on various games. Danny had gotten slightly bored by the talk and had walked over to a shelf of games. His eyes landed on something quite surprising. It was a video game about him… about Danny Phantom.

"It's a pretty good game, as far as brawling games go."

Danny looked to his side and saw Brandon. He was one of the band geeks at school, a chunky red-headed fellow that played the tuba.

"Really?" Danny asked and smiled slightly.

"Yeah, they have several of Phantom's most common foes, like Ember, the Lunch Lady, Skulker, and the Wisconsin Ghost, he's the final boss. I think Undergrowth and Vortex are a couple of the mini bosses. Then again that's just what my little cousin told me. Sadly it doesn't give the player fire powers, since Phantom just started using those, but maybe they'll make a DLC."

"Huh," Danny replied and nodded. "I might have to try it out myself."

Brandon chuckled but then slowly frowned. "Phantom is so brave. I mean I know he's a ghost so he doesn't have to worry about dying like some of the super-heroes in comic books do, but still…"

Danny grimaced slightly at Brandon inaccurate assumption that Phantom didn't have to worry about dying, but continued to listen.

"I wish I could be that brave." Brandon sighed. "I guess video games are the only place I can do that though."

"Anyone can be a hero."

Brandon paused and looked over at Danny. "Huh?"

Danny turned his head and locked eyes with Brandon. "Anyone can be a hero. You don't need super powers… Funny thing is… for some reason people seem to think that super powers suddenly gives people a reason to do the right thing and help people. I mean sure powers help with some of the enemies I'd imagine, but being brave or helping someone… anyone can do that. You just have to actually try. Help someone pick up their books, talk to someone who seems like they could use a friend. Those things can take just as much bravery as facing down a dragon."

Brandon looked into Danny's eyes in awe before a smile split his face. "Yeah! I could try that." He quieted some but Danny's acute hearing could pick up his words. "I could be brave…"

Danny nodded and picked up the game about him titled, Danny Phantom and the Gauntlet of Ghosts.

"Thanks Danny," Brandon murmured. "I wish there were more people like you at Casper. You and your friends are the only ones brave enough to call Dash and the others out on what they do."

Danny laughed nervously. "Eh, I don't know… maybe I just have a mouth on me."

Brandon snorted in just. "Could be that too."

Danny eventually said goodbye to Brandon and paid for his game with Tucker paying for his choice. Tucker started making fun of Danny for buying a game about himself as soon as they were out of earshot. It was getting about time to meet up with Sam and Valerie when Danny stopped and glanced over at a jewelry booth. Tucker noticed and grinned.

"You thinking of getting Sam something _nice_ for her birthday coming up, hm? Danny are ya? hm?" Tucker spoke and wiggled his eyebrows.

Danny grumbled and elbowed his friend in the side lightly, to avoid hurting him too bad.

"Yeah yeah, but not what you're thinking. Best part is, I don't have to pay for anything but the chain."

"Huh? How's that?"

"Two words, ghost ice."

"Oh dude, so unfair. Other than that though… I think she'll love it. I mean a necklace of ghost ice? How goth is that?"

"Even more so if I can get ghost fire inside them… or even one. I won't give her that one though until I'm sure it won't hurt her."

"Sounds like a plan to me, dude."

Danny and Tucker made their way over to the booth and soon, Danny had purchased a pretty onyx chain. He hid the bag for the chain in his Game-o-Rama sack.

"Dang, I need to figure out what to get her now."

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

The two friends made their way over to the fountain only to see Sam and Valerie walking over as well.

zzz

"So let me get this straight… You bought a game about yourself?" Valerie asked as the four friends made their way towards the entrance of the mall.

Danny scratched the back of his head. "I was curious. I wanted to see how accurate they were. Apparently Vlad's the final boss, according to Brandon's cousin."

"So no ego involved at all?" Sam asked and cocked a suspicious brow.

"Uh no?" Danny gulped. "Just curiosity."

"Not even a little?"

"Okay maybe a tiny bit."

"That's what I thought."

Tucker pulled the game from Danny's hand and chuckled, "Maybe I'm an un-lockable character or something."

"Doubt it, we try to disappear after the fights," Sam replied.

"Aw, you're such a party pooper, Sam," Tucker grumbled and passed the game back to Danny who put it back in his sack.

"So where in the park will we eat?" Valerie asked.

"I was thinking we could try out this new hotdog stand this guy's set up. Those portable food stand businesses are really getting popular you know," Tucker spoke and looked something up on his PDA.

"I think a hot dog sounds pretty good." Danny smiled.

"You need like three! I swear Danny, you're going to wither away or suck all the emotions out of someone on accident if you don't eat more," Sam expressed.

Valerie glanced between Sam and Danny, "Pardon?"

"Oh yeah, Danny's body needs one and a half times the amount of carbohydrates and other nutrients than a normal human being because of his other half. If he doesn't eat enough, his other half starts to feed on emotions from others, that's why ghosts like to scare people or play with their emotions so much when they exit the Ghost Zone. Not only does it feel good, but it helps their powered form stay stable. Ghosts that don't receive enough emotions become invisible most of the time, can't pick things up, and certainly can't attack anything. It's because of the Portal that all the ghosts around here can more easily manifest now. There's more energy without necessarily having to scare much," Tucker rambled.

"Oh," Valerie replied simply and looked at Danny. "Does it hurt for people if you feed on their emotions?"

Danny squirmed uncomfortably. "There's only been one time that I actually did it directly. I accidentally made all the guys in the guys' locker room really depressed. Remember that football game that took place that one day? You know, how we lost_ so_ bad that one game last season?"

Valerie's eyes widened slightly before she started to laugh. "You've got to be kidding, that was you Fenton?"

Danny smirked and scratched the back of his head again. "I hadn't really gotten to eat much that week. We'd had several big tests, the ghosts were acting up, and mom and dad were creating a lot of things that effected our food in the refrigerator again. So I tried it and I didn't do it as subtly as I had planned. I don't think it hurt them, but they certainly weren't happy."

"So you can feed off of happiness? Is that one of the reasons you started to protect Amity?" Valerie asked and a tiny hint of displeasure suddenly entered her voice.

"Yes I can, but it wasn't the reason why. I honestly didn't even know I could feed off emotions until Clockwork told me once when I visited him and he knew I'd been worn out," Danny replied and Valerie seemed pleased with that answer.

"It should be right over there," Tucker spoke, interrupting them, and pointed down the pathway in the park they were walking on now. Down the way, there was a trailer with people lined up to get food.

"I hope they have veggie burgers or even veggie dogs," Sam mused.

Danny smiled at her and was about to speak when he froze. His three friends slowed to a stop.

"Danny, you okay?" Sam asked in worry.

Danny looked at them with a very confused look on his face. "I don't know what it is… I kinda feel like a ghost is nearby, but my ghost sense didn't go off."

Valerie checked her watch which had a ghost detector on it, "My detector isn't sensing anything."

Danny frowned. "Then why do I feel like something's wrong?"

"I don't know dude, maybe you've just been overworked? It's been a while since we've had a peaceful weekend day," Tucker spoke.

"Tucker!" Sam yelled. "You know you always jinx us like that."

Tucker frowned. "Oh come on. I know it happens a lot, but surely it can't happen every. single. time, I mention the obvious."

A scream sounded from behind them.

"You were saying?" Sam asked.

Tucker looked aggravated. "Allow _me_ to kick _myself_ this time."

"What is that thing!?"

The four immediately looked over at what people were pointing and shouting or screaming about. It looked like an Ectopus, but instead of the common green variety or the slightly less common blue colored variety, it was a stark dark purple, almost black, with slanted blood red eyes which held no iris or pupil of any kind, at least none that could be seen from this distance.

"Why didn't my detector sense it?" Valerie asked no one and started fiddling with her watch.

"Same reason my ghost sense didn't," Danny replied.

"Then… does that mean, it's not a ghost?" Sam asked. All four friends were silent for a moment in thought about that question before Danny's eyes locked back on the creature.

"No matter what it is, I need to do something," Danny spoke and ran towards a stand of trees. He disappeared within their shadows before Danny Phantom shot out. Danny darted off towards the strange Ectopus while Valerie got ready herself.

The people in the small crowd seemed to relax a bit when they noticed Danny.

"Hey how many times do I have to tell you little guys, you belong in the ghost zone and squirting your ectoplasm ink is not a funny prank!" Danny yelled as a small smirk came to his face. He was eyeing the creature carefully, trying to figure out what could be off about it, but ultimately he felt certain it was just some weird form of Ectopus and the fight would be over quickly. He reevaluated _everything_ when the Ectopus actually _spoke,_ they never spoke.

"Kill… kill… kill KiLL kILL kIll KilL KILL kill KIll kiLL kill kill… kill… KILL KILL KILLLLLLL!"

Danny was honestly shocked, though there were some ghosts that were willing to kill or had a general sense of indifference towards life, there were very few other than Skulker being a hunter that actually wanted to do nothing but kill. There was always another motive or obsession they had to follow or their whole act was pointless and meaningless to them. This thing though, just wanted blood for the sake of it. Almost like… Dan did.

"Whoa easy there, pal. On second thought you can squirt as much ectoplasm as you want. No need to freak out," Danny replied. Valerie coasted up to his side at that moment. He leaned over and spoke low to her. "Something is really weird here. I've seen a lot of malevolent ghosts… but not like this. It just wants to kill for some reason."

"Strange," Valerie murmured.

Before Danny could add anything else, the Ectopus shot towards them. I whipped one of his tentacles at them and managed to slap Danny's arm. Normally, that wouldn't have done anything, but like most everything else about this creature, this wasn't normal. Danny immediately felt searing pain fire through his arm. The pain was so bad that he wailed in agony. He felt something snake it's way through his arm like fire as if heading for his heart, but before it could get to his shoulder, it stopped. Danny darted off to the side to hold his arm and try to see straight through the pain still pulsing through him. It felt more like a lingering sort of pain now, but it still hurt badly.

_Why did it stop? What was happening? It was almost like…_

Danny glanced over at Valerie, watching her dodge the Ecotpus, trying to reach her and hitting it with various lasers and missiles that seemed to do nothing.

_Like… a jellyfish. Venom… it was heading to my heart. What stopped it?_

He could feel his core pulsing lightly, sending a tingling sensation through him and almost numbing the pain in his arm.

_My core? My core stopped it somehow? Would I have… Could I have... died? Again? Wait. VALERIE!_

Danny suddenly shot forward. "Huntress, everyone, get away! That thing can kill you if it touches you!"

Valerie whipped her head to look at him in surprise. She glanced back at the Ectopus to see it dodge her last missile and come straight for her. She felt a shove and then she was falling.

"DANNY!"

Valerie heard Sam and Tucker cry out in worry, because of something obviously terrible she couldn't see yet. Valerie felt the air in her lungs fly from her chest when her board caught her and she glanced up and over after sitting up slowly. Danny was where she'd been; the Ectopus' tentacles were wrapped around his shoulders and back, skimming his chest. He was completely silent, but she could see the frozen look of agony on his face. Before she could scream a bunch of profanities out, because he took the hit for her, she and everyone else saw white light forming around Danny's body. It was like an aura and then it vanished. Suddenly, the Ectopus let out a spine-chilling screech as it's body started to disintegrate, it's pieces floating up and away like burning ashes from a fire. Soon the creature was gone, and Danny fell.

**zzzzzzzzz**

**So this chapter marks the first chapter that a hint of the new threat is making an appearance. The next chapter will reveal a tiny bit more about what was going on with the Ectopus. It will take a while though before everything is clear.**

**zzzzzzz**

**Answer to Questions:**

**kinitsukirihan: It would be neat seeing Danny split, but using protection as fuel, and two cores.. two Phantoms? If he remerged, then wouldn't the two mix? A power core? Can't wait for more! You are pacing this really well.**

**NoSignal: Some interesting theories, I guess we'll have to see though ;)**

**Amber055: Great can't wait for more. How often would you update this story?**

**NoSignal: We'll maybe every other day or so until I come to a part where the chapters (the rough written material I have) needs more than just minor revision. After that, I'll have to figure it out. I'm still working on the Master Challenge after all and that one's still at one chapter a week, so maybe... every six days for Danny Phantom once the buffer's gone? I'll have to think on it more. :)**

**yaissa-chan: Lo del salto en el tiempo creo que es aconsejable que lo utilices siempre y cuando no vaya a ocurrir nada importante, como tu dijiste que la historia trascurriría en un año, si no haces saltos necesarios creo que se extenderás mas de lo debido y perderás el enfoque. **

**Estas son sugerencias nada mas.**

**NoSignal: Thanks for your suggestions :) I'll keep them in mind.**

**NoSignal(Span): ****Gracias por sus sugerencias :) Me mantendré en mente.**


	5. I Like the Sound of That

**Okay sorry for the slight cliff hanger from last chapter.**

**Here we are!**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_We__'__re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness__—__and call it love__—__true love.__"__ ~ Robert Fulghum, True Love._

zzz

Valerie zipped forward and caught Danny partially on her sled. Not even hesitating, she darted away for the forest, hoping Sam and Tucker could find them soon. Almost right when she entered the deep forest around Amity Park's park, two rings of white light washed over Danny and he was Fenton again. She took in a sharp breath of air when she saw what looked like a burn mark wrapped around his left arm, hiding under his t-shirt sleeve. She found someplace to land and carefully transferred her friend to the ground before retracting her suit. She placed her head on Danny's chest briefly and could hear his slow heartbeat.

_At least that's a good sign._

She heard rustling behind her and turned with a weapon drawn before she saw it was Sam and Tucker.

"Sorry, I didn't know who it was," Valerie murmured.

"It's fine," Tucker replied before hurrying over with Sam to look at Danny.

After a moment, Sam spoke, "What did that thing do to him? Danny can you hear me?"

"I don't know. He said something about that Ectopus killing me if it touched me, but he got touched and lived even if it hurt," Valerie replied.

"Danny is a bit more durable than most humans though," Sam murmured and started to pull Danny's shirt to get a better look at the damage. Tucker watched silently and somewhat nervously, but was actually contemplating something carefully.

"Oh Danny…" Sam whispered and put a hand to her mouth. Valerie and Tucker looked over to see the same burn marks streaked a bit around his upper arms, dotted on his chest and when Sam rolled him slightly, streaked across his upper back. It plainly showed where the tentacles had touched him.

"How on earth will he explain those kinds of wounds to anyone?" Valerie murmured and then bit her bottom lip and looked away.

"Danny's had some pretty terrible injuries, so I wouldn't put it completely past him to heal most of this with time. He'll scar, but maybe they'll be faint…" Sam replied, mostly trying to sound hopeful which was odd for her.

Tucker finally seemed to come to some sort of realization. "I think I know what Danny was talking about. I'll have to check and see if I'm right when he wakes up, but I think those Ectopuses are more like jellyfish. Some sort of venom was in that thing and it would've killed Danny, Valerie or anyone if they touched it."

"But Danny's still alive. I mean his heart's still beating," Valerie pressed.

"I think… I think his core saved him. I think that's what that light was. You see his core is right next to or right behind Danny's heart. We aren't hundred percent sure which, because we haven't seen inside him, but one of those places. The venom would've gone through the arm and into the heart, but his core must've stopped it before it got too close. I don't know why his core would only protect him against this particular kind of venom or whatever, but for some reason his core rejected it, which might give us a clue later about what that thing was exactly," Tucker spoke and then looked at Valerie in slight fear. "Danny saved you're life. You don't have a ghost core to protect your heart."

Valerie paused and sat stock still. "He… he…" Valerie wanted to punch something or cry, but because she couldn't decide which, she simply stared off into the shadows of the forest.

They all flinched when they heard a soft moan.

"Danny?"

"Hey Sam."

zzz

Vlad was really really busy. He'd been watching his surveillance cameras that he'd put up throughout the city as well as several recorded tapes from those same cameras from the past few days.

One of his monitors showed Danny using his new Pyrokinesis, another showed Danny and Valerie's battle against Aragon at the mall, and the last was just finishing being recorded, a video of the purple Ectopus being evaporated by the white aura around Danny.

"So many mixed emotions… Where do I begin Maddie?" Vlad mused and the cat in his lap meowed as she pushed against his chest. He started to pet her as she desired.

"I'm not sure how Daniel was able to learn Pyrokinesis so quickly." Vlad murmured and then formed bit of electricity between his fingers. The static bothered Maddie and she hissed slightly before jumping down and wandering off. "It took me a few years to use my electricity to it's full potential and I prefer it do to it's potency. And while I naturally have a hot core, Daniel seems to be able to utilize both a hot and cold core… I'll need to study this further."

He glanced back up at his screens to see Valerie fighting alongside Danny against Aragon. While Vlad did have many cameras around the city they were very very small and thus couldn't capture sound very easily. He would've made the cameras bigger, but he was pretty sure his constituents for his time in office wouldn't like knowing they were being spied on by their mayor. So he settled for less than great audio quality. He didn't really think he needed sound though; he was pretty good at reading people without it and something about the way Danny and Valerie fought together didn't look like an awkward temporary truce. That and Valerie had been hanging around Danny _Fenton_ more than normal. Wasn't their fling together over?

"Hmm… has my pawn become a turncoat? And if so, why?" Vlad mused and leaned back in his large plush chair. He happened to glance at the last video feed with the purple Ectopus and actually smiled. "At least that is going according to plan." He glanced back over his shoulder and saw a small dome of glass, inside was the Crown of Fire.

"Yes… according to the plan from the start. As if I would've let something like Pariah take me off guard, who does Daniel think he's dealing with?"

zzz

**One Hour Previously**

Deep in the far reaches of the Ghost Zone, in an area few had ventured near for eons, there was something that looked like a Graveyard of sorts. Only one stone sat in the courtyard though, with a single withered tree shading it. It was course like limestone and bleached like the sun from the human world had been baking it for centuries. In the ground, at the base of the headstone, a crack in the earth was forming though it was very small. Purple mist started to escape from the crack in small feeble puffs like something was having trouble breathing. When the earth had cracked, the headstone had been cracked as well damaging the words engraved in the stone and changing it from: "Utinam humanitas non cadat ad Malus." (May Humanity not fall to Malus) to "Malus ut ad humanitatem cadere." (May Humanity fall to Malus). A small Ectopus floated by and noticed the disturbance. Curious, it flew closer. It hovered above the crack calmly, looking at the headstone and around the Graveyard, until suddenly it stopped bobbing and hovered quietly and almost robotically. Slowly the green hue it had, faded to a dark sickening purple.

"Kill…kill…kill…"

zzz

After a while of sitting in the forest and Danny reclaiming his shirt, Danny was able to get up and walk even if pain was etched into his features. Well it looked that way to Sam, but maybe to someone else Danny was merely scowling. He confirmed with Tucker his own suspicions about the Ectopus and it's danger to full humans. They grabbed up their bags from the mall and walked themselves home after deciding to end their day earlier due to the previous events. Eventually, Danny got home and found Jazz, who immediately asked if he was okay. The news had come on saying that bystanders had witnessed the Red Huntress zooming away with an unconscious Danny Phantom, though the station had stated they weren't positive how true the info was since no reporters captured the event. Danny then explained to Jazz what had happened and Jazz had then rushed Danny up to her bathroom to look at his injuries even against his protests. She gave him burn cream to apply and watched him as he applied it and wrapped himself. Earlier that morning before taking a shower was when he'd discarded his old bandages for the gash on his left side that was no longer there; only a faint whitish scar remained. Hopefully after a couple days, the burns would look the same. Danny was sort of glad it was October now and no longer swimming season. He'd have to figure out someway to explain those burn scars by Spring, but for now he had too many things to think off until then.

Maddie and Jack then came home from another meeting with Axion representatives. The family had dinner together, Danny called his friends to put them at ease that he was okay, placed Sam's birthday present in a safe place, and then Danny went to sleep and oddly enough, no ghosts interrupted.

zzz

Tucker paced in his room early the next morning. Last night over web cam, Danny, Sam and he had discussed maybe visiting Frostbite to try and get info on the strange Ectopus they'd encountered. The trio knew Valerie would't be making it this time; she would be spending the day with her father since Sundays were the only days that she and he were both free from work and/or school. Jazz was still working on the finishing touches for her volume two of Ghost Envy and would be leaving tomorrow for University because her allotted break from classes for her independent studies were up. Tucker wanted to go with his friends to Frostbite's, he couldn't think of anything he'd liked more than hanging out with his two best friends, but in truth there was one thing that he wanted.

"I've got to get them together, somehow."

Yesterday he'd noticed something in Sam's behavior; She had been saddened by Danny's wounds and her care for him had bubbled up and a little over her typical walls against her will, fretting about him on the way home from the park, which Tucker had picked up on. Danny was still mister clueless and it always seemed that Tucker could pinpoint what was going on with Sam way before Danny could, which is strange since the kid could technically 'sense' emotions to some degree. Danny was sensitive more than many people, it was his kind heart after all, much like good ol' Mister Fenton that made him who he was, but somewhat like his father, Danny was clueless. But what are friends for after all, hm? Before he'd made up his mind all over again to double his efforts to try and help his two best friends get together, Tucker had thought back on some lessons he'd learned from past mistakes of his, Tucker Phantom and Hotep-Ra being to two most prominent ones, and he knew he could never let any kind of jealousy come between him and Danny. To some degree those mistakes had brought the two even closer together. Fights, goof-ups, dark paths, and things of the like seemed to do that to friends, at least friends like the trio.

So that's why he wanted Danny to be happy, because they had slowly become more than friends. They had become blood brothers in a sense. He had a fear of becoming a third wheel, but he knew two things would stop him from getting angry about it. One they had Valerie now so technically he wouldn't be completely alone even if she didn't know him like Danny and Sam did and second, Danny wouldn't leave him, ever. He maybe clueless, but Danny, unlike his father, was like psychically in tune to when someone was sad or upset; it could be kinda creepy at times. No it was love that Danny seemed oblivious to.

_So maybe the best way isn't forcing them directly like he'd tried verbally to on several occasions… That typically ended with a hurt shin and no progress. They got suspicious too quick._

"Maybe they just need some time alone and together. But what in the world will be my excuse for not going with them to Frostbite's?"

Tucker happened to stop his pacing and glanced over at his table. He saw there was a Chemistry project for school that was due in a couple days. He absolutely despised long term projects that didn't have to do with technology. He deadpanned.

"The things I do for love."

zzz

Danny and Sam were slightly confused when it ended up being just the two of them heading to Frostbite's. Sam was certain that Tucker was up to _something_ though she didn't know what, but Danny simply shrugged and told her to not jump to conclusions, even if Tucker almost never worked on project ahead of time, homework sometimes, projects almost never. What they both decided and agreed on was to visit Frostbite's domain, like planned. First because Sam wanted the large snow creature to look at Danny's burns and make sure everything was okay and second because the Far Frozen had an impressive library that rivaled the Ghost Writer's collection in size, and it wasn't off limits by Walker's 'rules' while the Writer served his sentence. It was where they tended to go now for information on things which they had a sneaking suspicion Clockwork wouldn't tell them about it so soon. He often was able to give them mostly info on Danny since there was no literature on Half-Ghosts until Vlad came along, but other things, he often asked for them to discover on their own. Clockwork also had an impressive collection and was willing to let them look through it if they could find nothing in Frostbite's library.

The two friends collected some equipment, got Sam a coat and had snuck into the lab invisibly since Danny's parents were working there. Danny opened the portal with the genetic lock and slipped in. Maddie had been wearing protective gear while she worked on something so she didn't hear the portal doors move. Jack had perked up and looked around suspiciously.

zzz

"I usually don't like floating through here without protection from the Spector Speeder, but we can only use the distraction tactics on my parents so often," Danny spoke as he glanced around cautiously.

"It's fine. I like this mode of transportation best anyways." Sam smiled even if Danny couldn't see it. She repositioned herself and grabbed Danny's arm for support while she shifted her weight, only for him to flinch hard. She realized she'd grabbed one of the burns on the upper part of his right arm. "Oh Danny, I'm so sorry!"

Danny smiled. "It's fine. You comfortable now?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. She flushed slightly when she felt Danny's arms wrap around her waist more securely. He could just be making sure she didn't slip, but she couldn't help but wish it meant more.

"Hey look, after about ten minutes, Far Frozen appears!" Danny smirked as they neared the frozen land. They touched down on the snowy ground and they heard a specific horn blow. It was the People of the Frozen's way of signaling a friendly, and not just any friendly, the Great One had arrived.

"Sounds like the welcoming party should be here soon," Sam teased.

"Yeah I guess. I don't know why they think so highly of me. I know I helped stopped Pariah, but without Vlad there with the Skeleton Key… I would've failed," Danny returned.

"It's because you were brave enough to try and willing to give your half-life for us, Great One," Frostbite replied as he trudged up to them.

"Yeah I guess." Danny shrugged modestly.

Frostbite gave a big toothy smile. "I want to see it. Please Great One, show us your eternal flame."

Danny perked up and Sam seemed surprised. Several other yetis stood nearby, curiously watching.

"How'd-" Danny started.

"Hakan is an old acquaintance of mine. He hasn't been around as long as I, but we see eye to eye on many things, with the major exception of you. I believe your existence to be almost entirely a good thing."

"Heh, good to know," Danny replied nervously.

Frostbite laughed. "Truth be told it's been… eons and eons since any ghost has seen a new ghost which can switch between a cold and hot core. Most often you either receive one or the other. Vortex is one of the oldest ghosts and one of the only ones still in existence which can do this same thing, which gives him his access to his weather powers."

"Really?" Sam asked in surprise. "Why _is_ it that virtually all ghosts can't switch? Is it purely an emotion thing? It can't be because then Vortex couldn't do what he does."

Frostbite nodded. "Indeed you are correct. While the main reason the Great One here can use both is due to his half human status, there is also another important thing that can determine whether one can access both a hot and cold core. That is power potential. Vortex is a very ancient ghost like Undergrowth, Nocturne, Clockwork, the Observants, and a few others. Because of merely how the energy was separated and divided up in the beginning, all these ghosts received a great deal of power. These great stores of power allow for them to access both their cores, thought not all of them can do it easily… especially as easily as you, Great One."

"Huh? Wait, I can do it easy? Like it's much harder for some of those ghosts?" Danny asked.

"Indeed, you seem to have hardly any trouble with the switch. Even Hakan was stumped by your quick progress. I suppose he didn't believe me when I told him you learned your Cyrokinesis in a day and a half! Ha!" Frostbite laughed.

"Why can I do it so easy?" Danny asked.

Frostbite frowned, "It seems only Clockwork is aware of the why and he is very guarded about that information for whatever reason."

"Oh, gotcha." Danny nodded and frowned slightly. He shook his head and smiled. "Okay, ghost fire coming up!" Danny floated up into the air and after a split second, he'd switched cores. He then concentrated and orange and white fire formed around his body and he took off flying around like a comet.

Sam smiled watching him enjoying himself and the other yetis oo'd and aw'd at his brief display. Danny stopped, pulled the fire inside, and switched back to his cold core.

"Brilliant! Masterful!, Great One! You've learned so quickly!" Frostbite shouted. He looked down at Danny and Sam standing next to each other and nodded. "So why have you two graced us with your presence?"

Sam frowned a bit. "Danny got attacked by something yesterday. It didn't set off his ghost sense and yet it looked like an Ectopus. It left burns on Danny's body whenever it's tentacles touched him and we're pretty sure there was some sort of venom in it that Danny's core rejected. His core protected his human heart. We're fairly certain it could have killed a human with one touch."

Frostbite nodded and listened carefully. "So I imagine you'd like me and my staff to look him over and you want to check out the archives for clues to the identity of this mysterious creature."

"That's right." Sam nodded and smiled.

Danny spoke up, "I really feel fine, Sam."

"Even so, let us make sure everything is in order, Great One," Frostbite expressed. Danny sighed.

"I'll start looking in the library, okay?" Sam smiled and placed a hand on his arm. Danny nodded and smiled. They separated with Danny following after Frostbite and Sam being lead off by another yeti with small round glasses towards the library.

zzz

He walked into the infirmary behind Frostbite. Another yeti was in another room nearby gathering things. Frostbite turned and smiled. "Alright then, please do remove your suit in your ghost form and your outer clothes in human form so that I can see the burns in both forms."

Danny nodded and walked over to a corner of the room with a curtain. Once he pulled the curtain around him he reached near his neck and felt around for the zipper on his hazmat suit. It was an odd feeling to step out of his suit. There had been very few times that he'd ever been out of his suit while in ghost form. He wasn't exactly sure how the clothes from his ghost or human form disappeared or how sometimes they would swap, like when shrunken down with Dash or using his Ghostly Wail the first few times, but he didn't ask many questions about that. Finally he found the super durable and thin plastic zipper and pulled. Once he found himself out of the suit and bandages and only in his boxers… the same _colored_ boxers he'd worn the day of his accident three years ago, he transformed into his human form and chuckled seeing his white t-shirt, jeans, and red sneakers he'd chosen that day.

"Deja vu, huh?" Danny mused as he took off the clothing, the bandages weren't there this time. Once in his boxers again which were a different color than the others, he left the safety of the curtain, and shivered a bit. Even with his cold core, the yetis sure kept their home chilly.

Frostbite looked at him as he approached and could see the burn marks wrapped about the young man's upper body and left arm like a snake.

"I certainly see why your dear friend was concerned. These look painful," Frostbite spoke and gave a pitying frown. He then gestured to a table as the other yeti came forward. "Let us get to work."

zzz

She really loved Frostbite's library. It had so many tales of Ghosts and other things regarding the Ghost Zone and the dark and mysterious things there were. The bad part was, when trying to find info about this Ectopus creature, she wasn't sure where to start.

"I would suggest trying to look for the Ghost Encyclopedia volume number five for E. If you don't find anything there… then it might be more difficult to figure out where to look since we don't know what caused the mutation in the ghost or whatnot."

Sam nodded at the bespectacled yeti, "You check out the Encyclopedia. I want to check out any books that talk about ghost cores. That's the only other clue we have at the moment, that whatever altered the Ectopus made it easily able to be destroyed by some latent power in ghost cores or something like that."

The yeti agreed and lumbered off while Sam went down the aisle he said would have a couple books on ghost cores. She gaze over spine after spine before coming to find a book titled, _The Nature of Ghost Cores_. She plucked it from it's place and walked over to sit in a chair to read.

It was an hour later, when she felt like she'd looked through the book enough. She'd learned couple things, but neither were very helpful towards figuring out what was odd about the Ectopus and predictably the Encyclopedia had no mention of any rare kind of Ectopus that was purple in color.

"So any luck?"

Sam looked behind her to see Danny standing there in his human form, smiling.

"Hey, how are you?" Sam asked and stood to turn and face him.

"I'm fine Sam. Frostbite said they seem to only be burn marks now. They'll scar and fade mostly away eventually." Danny smiled brightly but stopped when he saw the sadness in Sam's eyes. When she realized he was looking at her, searching her face for that sadness again, she turned away and pulled the book out from the chair she'd been in.

"Anyways, I found a couple of interesting things, but nothing that helps with figuring out what was wrong with that Ectopus. For example, when ghosts overshadow _each other_ it can be kinda dangerous to either party. Which ever ghost has greater mastery over their powers can manipulate the weaker one's core, corrupt the other's core, or simply absorb the other ghost entirely as a spare energy source," Sam spoke.

"Ew… that's like eating a ghost," Danny grimaced.

"Yeah. The other thing is that a ghost core never becomes weaker or stronger, only it's owner's ability to control it's energy changes. The core you're given is the one you keep for all time with the exception of gaining magical artifacts to increase one's power," Sam finished and shut the book. "A few good things to remember, but nothing about a crazy purple Ectopus."

Danny nodded, "Maybe when we have time again, we'll go talk to Clockwork about it. Who knows, maybe it was just some weird fluke… I mean all we can do is wait at this point and see what happens."

Sam nodded and Danny walked behind her as she went to put the book back in its place. He noticed the sad look in Sam's eyes again and frowned. "Sam what's wrong?"

He stopped when she turned and placed a hand on his arm. Her fingertips lingered on the end of the burn mark that adorned his left arm; it stopped a little bit below his short sleeve.

"Do they hurt as much now? Did Frostbite give you something?" Sam asked evenly.

Danny nodded, "Just a little something, that and I'm always healing." He gave a smirk. His face dropped into a more somber look again when Sam gazed up at him. After watching her look over his face for a few moments, he saw her own face suddenly grow determined. "Sam you know you can tell me anyth-"

He was halted in his words when Sam's lips were suddenly on his. Frostbite had motioned to the other yeti with glasses to follow him. They both left the library with a happy smile on their faces.

Her hands wrapped around his hands. Only a second or two passed before Danny reciprocated and let her know he felt the same. They seemed to suddenly find themselves leaning against a bookcase making out for real for the first time. It was sort of like someone had started a slow fire long ago and just had suddenly decided to pour some gasoline on it. Their hands roved about a bit hesitantly, Danny's eventually resting at Sam's waist and Sam's eventually resting around Danny's neck with one hand tangled in the hair on the back of his head. They were both taking short gasps of air only when they had too, though a couple times Sam had to remind Danny that she couldn't hold her breath like he could. They finally broke apart and rested their foreheads together.

"You need to shave soon," Sam mumbled. Danny barked out a laugh in amusement at her request.

"Will do." Danny smirked. "Will you be mine, Sam?"

"If you'll be mine, Danny."

"That's easy."

"Yeah same here."

They went at it again and on the second go they explored each other's mouths for the first time. Danny enjoyed the activity so much that he temporarily lost control of his core and switched from cold to hot. Sam felt the heat start to get more intense around them and she nudged Danny slightly, which helped him switch right back to cold if accidentally a bit too cold for a moment. The temperature change was abrupt and Sam wasn't certain she could say she didn't enjoy it. Eventually they slowed to a stop. Sam pulled her back away from the bookcase and rested her head on Danny's right shoulder near the crook of his neck and he rested his head on top of hers.

"We need to go don't we?" Danny asked.

"Uuuugh," Sam muttered.

Another brief silence came and went.

"Why did you kiss me?" Danny whispered.

"I… I was tired of waiting and you know how proactive I am. I really really care about you a lot Danny."

Danny nodded barely and then spoke, "I'm sorry if I hurt you for not saying anything… I was too cowardly to say something the other day."

"In front of my house? I was pretty certain that's what you'd wanted, but… that tiny bit of doubt for me was so much stronger then."

"I'm sorry Sam."

"Don't be. We were both afraid for a while… not only that but you show enough courage for ten people, Danny. I think your hesitancy to ask me… can certainly be easily forgiven. I mean… to be with someone like me and-"

Sam was interrupted by a kiss from Danny.

"Don't say that."

"Don't say what-"

He kissed her again. "Don't say anything about who you are Sam, because I like you just like you are. I told you before there are a bunch of reasons a guy could like you."

"But-"

He kissed her a third time. "No buts." He then smirked as he started to kiss her with little pecks each time she tried to reply until she started to laugh and finally gave up.

"Okay OKAY!" Sam yelled with a smile and placed her entire hand over his face to stop him from kissing her again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to come up with any excuse to kiss me." Danny's big blue eyes blinked back at her between her fingers and she heard his muffled voice.

"Mae - hbee."

Eventually the pair collected themselves and prepared to leave. Frostbite unknowingly embarrassed them when he congratulated them on their togetherness. Danny thanked the yeti chief for his help and time.

As Danny and Sam left the Far Frozen and disappeared, some of the yetis noticed their chief shiver.

"Frostbite, sir? Are you okay?" One of them asked.

Frostibite ignored them momentarily and looked deep into the Ghost Zone. "Something… feels wrong. I have absolutely no idea what… but something's wrong."

zzz

Back at the graveyard like area, the puffs of purple smoke had become a stream of smoke pouring from the ground in front of the grave-marker. Suddenly, the ground cracked more and a human sized cloud of purple smoke slipped from the ground and moved a bit away before setting on the ground in the general shape of a human. It glanced back at the headstone even though it had no eyes and then floated away leaving the graveyard quiet and still.

zzz

In the Observants' Halls and more specifically in a large office or sorts, a important and somewhat one-sided talk slash yelling match was occurring. It depended on which being you asked.

"Can't you sense it, Clockwork? A darkness that is forming? It's coming back after so many years, it's coming back!"

Clockwork stood, talking with three Observants in the office. The rest of their brothers and sisters hadn't been told. Only the three Observants in charge were present to talk with Clockwork. They were more powerful and could more easily sense disturbances before they came; they could see down the road of the future much farther.

"I don't only sense it. I know what it is, why it's here, what it wants, how it's formed, how it will be stopped… or how it might not be stopped. I do believe you all forget sometimes that I can see all things, Vigilate," Clockwork replied as he turned into his older self.

Another of the three, named Videre, spoke next. "I know why… It's that boy. That boy that you harbor and protect. The one you favor because of your bias! I don't know why you care so much for one life, but you are stepping out of your bounds! He should've been dealt with. Now we not only have to monitor him constantly, but his alternate future is now freed from the course of the boy's timeline. He could kill the boy and still exist! He's unstoppable now. Getting rid of the boy was our only sure fire way of destroying that monster."

Clockwork sighed. "I know these things. I do not favor the boy. I have no bias and have not been aiding him beyond limits. I know that the one known as Dan Phantom is now separate from the boy's fate, but as I said before they are both my responsibility. What you are all unaware of is how important my choices will be in preventing disaster."

The last of the three Observants, Lacrimalis, spoke third with a feminine voice, "You're playing a dangerous game, Time-keeper."

Clockwork had to prevent a smile from coming to his face, knowing that would only anger the beings he was trying to calm; they just didn't seem to understand no matter how many times he told them, that he could see all things. He replied, "It's not too dangerous to gamble when you know the likelihood of each outcome. The main outcome will be good as possible for the whole, Wormhole will make sure the other outcomes are contained in their own dimensions and or destroyed by loops or decisions made, after all what never occurred can never be and Reaper will of course manage the souls."

"Wormhole seems to have trouble doing his job, allowing Dan to skip between space and time to try and assure his future. You both failed in that account," Videre growled.

"Wormhole… was willing to listen to my wishes and agreed to help me." Clockwork shifted into his child form.

"What!? He also disobeyed us!?" Vigilate snapped.

"We aren't required to listen to you. We are willing to listen. We aren't trying to do wrong, dear Observants. We are, believe it or not, trying to do the most good. Even Reaper is starting to see why the half-deads should be allowed to live." Clockwork shifted back into his middle-aged form.

The three Observants whispered to each other before Lacrimalis spoke, "Very well, you are dismissed for the time being." They all still seemed upset and maybe angry long after Clockwork bowed and floated away.

zzz

Back at Clockwork's lair, Clockwork floated towards his Windows of Time but paused and looked over at the thermos that sat in an alcove of his lair with a energy shield in front of it.

Clockwork let a thoughtful look come to his face.

"All is as it should be."

zzz

The next day came and Jazz was packing her things to start her drive back to her University. Jazz could've gotten into Yale, Harvard, or many other places, but she had started to grow a specified interest in the psyche of ghosts, and the effect ghosts have on the psyche of humans and none of those places had enough courses on the supernatural for her personal needs. In response, she'd settled for humble little Eastern Amity University which was a couple hours east from Amity Park itself. It was while she was folding another shirt when she heard a tiny explosion from Danny's room. She got up and rushed over to his room. When she opened it up, she saw Danny sitting on the floor.

Danny had several pieces of completed ghost ice crystals behind him. His face though was dusted with something charcoal-looking and sported a few stray cuts. His hands had taken the same treatment his face had. He looked up at her in alarm before seeing it was her. He let out a sigh after he unfroze from shock.

"Geez can't you knock? You gave me a heart-attack." Danny grumbled and tried to rub the dust off his face and hands, smearing a tiny bit of blood.

"Oh yeah, because when I hear an explosion from my brother's bedroom I remember to knock," Jazz replied and rolled her eyes. "What are you doing?"

Danny suddenly blushed slightly and looked behind him at the crystals, "Um… making Sam's birthday gift. It's a necklace of ghost ice, but I was wanting one to have an ember of ghost fire in it, you know as a pendant… It's not working out too well."

Jazz looked at the crystals behind Danny and suddenly grew excited. "Oh Danny! That's so wonderful! I know she'll love it." She looked up at Danny's face and saw he was still blushing and glancing at his own hands with a smile. She watched for a few more moments before she spoke. "Oh my gosh."

Danny glanced up at her in confusion. "What?"

"You two finally are together."

Danny seemed to panic. "Wait what!?"

"You two totally are an item now, aren't you!?" Jazz exclaimed and started to jump up and down.

Danny blushed fiercely and mumbled something under his breath.

"What's that?"

He mumbled again.

"I can't hear you Danny."

"We are."

There was quiet until Jazz practically tackled her brother in a hug. "Oh Danny I'm so proud of you both! I can't wait to tell Mom and Dad! They've been waiting for this too!"

"Ah geez do you have to make such a big deal out of it?" Danny squirmed. "I know when we tell Tucker he's going to really going to have a heyday."

"Yes I do, but don't be ashamed! This is good! You two will be a great couple, embrace it!" Jazz replied.

"Okay okay, I've got to get to school. Travel safe to University." Danny smiled and hugged his sister back. He almost engulfed her in his arms with how he'd grown. He was already a tad taller than her.

"I will. Tell Sam I'm proud and happy for you both."

"Okay."

So Jazz went back to packing and Danny hid the completed crystals away, cleaned up, grabbed his backpack and flew to school.

zzz

"There's nothing that could make this day bad for him is there?" Sam muttered in irritation.

"With the amount of money he's hinting at getting for shamelessly betting on us, nope," Danny replied and squeezed Sam's hand tighter. Even though the day was a bit warmer than a few before, Danny was having to wear a sweatshirt to hide any possible view of his new scars from the Ectopus. He'd even shaved himself like he'd promised Sam and no budding stubble could be found. And what's more, he'd done it without his dad's help; his dad had been in the lab with his mother working on something anyways and he hadn't really wanted to interrupt them.

Sam on the other hand hand on the ring that Danny had asked her to hold onto. The new couple had talked a long time last night over video chat and Sam had reminded him about the ring and Danny had explained that his dad had actually engraved Sam into the ring and not Wes like Sam had thought. She couldn't have been happier when he'd asked her teasingly if she'd keep it for a while longer and maybe wear it if she wanted.

Tucker was marching in front of both the happy Danny and Sam with the largest grin ever plastered on his face.

_Oh I forgot to mention one other tiny reason I wanted Danny and Sam together, the moolah._

People were staring at the young man as he walked though the halls. Some seemed to understand his odd behavior when they noticed Danny and Sam holding hands. It was fairly common knowledge at Casper High that Danny and Sam had seemed to have liked each other for a long time and the rumor or idea of it had gotten stronger the last few months.

The trio made their way to their lockers and people started murmuring. Tucker immediately went into action, finding all the people who'd bet with him so he could collect his money.

Paulina and Star were a distance away watching Danny and Sam talk and laugh to each other about Tucker while he was doing his thing.

zzz

"Paulina, I was just wondering like why you'd want to date Danny… I mean, technically you've been on a date or two with him before. They seem like really happy together," Star spoke and glanced between Danny and Paulina worriedly. She saw Valerie approach Tucker and drag him back over to Danny and Sam, who laughed at her actions.

"It's simple, Star. I've had and broken the heart of every decent looking boy in this school. I toyed with Danny before, since he was a geek. Now though, he's decent so I have to move in soon," Paulina replied as she watched Sam and Danny closely before the four friends started to walk towards their first classes.

"Can't you like make an exception just this once? You'd have to break Danny and Sam apart to date Danny even temporarily."

"So? That should be easy. I've stolen him from her before. That goth girl doesn't know boys like I do. I don't care how much history those two have."

"I thought you loved Phantom? What if he sees you with Danny?"

"Star, I think you're getting confused. It's basic stuff. I make myself look desirable, guys get jealous. Phantom's a hero so he doesn't get all that jealous but he'll fall in love when he sees I'm the most beautiful and desired girl in Amity or even that he's ever seen," Paulina replied and batted her eyelashes as she sighed in a comical dream-like manner. "It's just like the movies, the handsome hero and beautiful heroine always make it to the end and fall in love! Just like my Papa always said."

Star frowned slightly, "Paulina… I think you're a bit misguid-"

"Star, star- star… I'm the teacher, you're the student. Just watch and learn. Within a few days if not immediately, Danny Fenton will be wrapped around my little finger."

zzz

The school day went on normally, though right in the middle of last period, Danny went to the restroom to go and fight the Lunch Lady. He walked out of the boys' bathroom and almost shot Paulina with an Ectoblast when she suddenly was there and had said his name.

"Hey there, Danny."

He jumped a bit at the sudden company and then sighed to relax. "Geez Paulina… wait, Paulina? What are you doing here? Don't you have Math right now with Mrs. Matthews?"

"I needed to use the little girl's room, then I saw you and wanted to talk," Paulina replied and smiled sweetly.

Danny gave her a confused look. "Ohhkay?"

Paulina walked closer and smiled, "I was just wondering… you see there's this party in a few weeks. It's at the start of November, you know? Even your little friends, Sam and Tucker can come. It's one of two big parties we're having to kinda celebrate our class graduation coming in June." She placed a hand on Danny's arm. "I would _love_ to see you there." She then turned and started to walk away when Danny reached out and grabbed her arm. Paulina smirked before she turned to face him. _Gotcha._ She then faced Danny and was slightly surprised by the intensity in his face.

"Paulina, are you wanting to say something to me?" Danny asked seriously and studied her face.

She smiled and batted her lashes. "Well truth be told… I'm not sure how to say this… but I think I like you Danny. Dash was great before we broke up, but you actually have some intellect. I felt like I was talking to a brick wall with him." She slipped her arm out from Danny's flabbergasted grasp and placed her hands on top of both of his shoulders and slowly started to slide them behind his neck.

Danny tensed and was about to speak when Paulina cut him off.

"Goodness! Danny… have you been working out?" Paulina asked and started to twirl a small bit of Danny's hair at the nape of his neck.

His cheeks flared red against his will and he gulped. "Uh Paulina, look I… I can't…" He paused and closed his eyes. He took a breath to steady his speaking which confused Paulina and then looked at her. "I'm dating Sam and I care a lot about her." He gently grabbed her hands from behind his neck and pulled them away. "I appreciate the offer… but I just don't really have a crush on you anymore. Ultimately some guys are looking for a girl that cares about them like Sam cares for me. I don't think this… is some kind of fling for me or her." He looked up and gave a kind smile. "I know you'll find someone, it just wont be me." He nodded at her stunned face and turned and walked back towards his class.

After he was gone, Star ran over to Paulina from a place she'd been hiding and spoke. "I think he's like pretty serious, Paulina."

Paulina laughed and Star cocked her head at her friend's response.

"Don't worry, Star. It's not over. Did you see how flustered he got when I got close? Danny's a modest fellow, everyone knows it. He doesn't even like to shower with the other guys after gym. I'm just going to have to put on a little more pressure. He's a guy, he'll crack eventually. All I need to do later is damage control. I've got to pretend to accept his response and get him and his friends to still come to the party and then I'll deal the final blow."

Paulina smiled at her friend and walked off. Star lagged behind and spoke to herself. "Something about this feels… wrong." She then sighed and jogged to catch up to Paulina.

zzz

"She. did. WHAT!?" Sam growled out loud as the four friends walked away from the school after the final bell had rung.

"Easy Sam, I told her no and sent her on her way…" Danny replied and scratched the back of his neck. "I just don't know what brought this on so suddenly." Danny stared at the ground in thought while Sam was still steaming slightly. Valerie placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and whispered softly.

"I told you she wouldn't hold a candle to you in Danny's mind," Valerie spoke and then winked. Sam seemed to relax and then calmed herself down.

Tucker was busy counting his wad of money from his betting earnings. "She probably is just starting to realize that you've grown some, dude. You're finally a stud like me."

Danny chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Right…" He shook his head when he heard Tucker grumble about Mr. Lancer trying to hide from him all day to avoid paying up for his part in the bet.

"No she's just shallow. She wants to have every guy and then break them and make them feel beneath her," Sam spoke up and crossed her arms.

"Well I hope she learns her lesson one day. She'll get hurt if she suddenly finds herself alone, with no friends," Danny murmured.

"Danny, you're way too kind, you know that?" Sam sighed.

Danny smiled halfheartedly at her. "Sorry, just can't help it." He looked off towards a sidewalk on the other side of the street to see people walking both ways. "When you've seen your life flash before your eyes a few times… It's hard not to want to give everyone… a second chance."

The others fell silence for a brief moment before Valerie spoke up, "Look, Danny… I just wanted to thank you for taking the hit for me from that Ectopus thing. I didn't get to properly thank you before. You made me madder then hell but I'm still grateful."

Danny smiled. "It's fine, Valerie. I mean, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to die and I was pretty sure you were. It was kinda a no-brainer for me really."

"Yoohoo! Danny!"

The four friends froze in their tracks. They were just about to exit school grounds completely, when Paulina's voice had reached their ears. A few students turned and looked at Danny's group as well as Paulina approaching with Star. Sam could see the confusion in some of the girls faces when Paulina approached; most were aware by the end of the day, that Sam and Danny were a couple. The boys in the courtyard seemed intrigued, like they were about to maybe watch a cat fight since Paulina wasn't used to not getting her way, which Sam wasn't certain a cat fight wouldn't happen if Paulina pulled the same stunt Danny had mentioned, right in front of her.

"Yes Paulina?" Danny asked patiently and slipped a hand into one of his pockets causally; the other was holding Sam's hand.

"I was just wanting to apologize. I shouldn't have done what I did earlier today. I suppose I was just a little sad that I let a guy like you get away from me. I do hope what I did won't deter you or any of your friends from coming to the party though," Paulina responded.

Danny frowned slightly. "It's… okay Paulina and we'll see if we can make it. We'll certainly think about it."

Paulina smiled. "Oh good. Well see you all later then." She happened to glance over at Sam and almost flinched at the murderous look in the goth's eyes. She and Star walked away.

"She's kidding, right?" Sam muttered.

Danny shrugged. "She seems to be up to something… I don't know. We have time to think about it though."

The four friends walked down the road and Danny spoke again.

"I need to go ahead and get home. I'm gonna fly from here. I have something I need to uh work on." He was stumbling over his words.

Sam cocked an eyebrow. "You're not acting suspicious at all."

Danny laughed a bit nervously and spoke a bit high-pitched, "See ya at your birthday party, Sam." He then tried to phase through a wall, invisibly and his friends heard an- "Ouch."

"Did you do invisibility and forget intangibility again?"

"No."

"Danny…"

"Maybe?"

Sam laughed a bit and then Danny Phantom appeared flying over the wall. He flushed slightly after glancing in frustration at the offending wall and zoomed off.

"What was that about?" Valerie questioned and put her hands on her hips.

"Probably trying to work on Sam's birthday present," Tucker replied as he typed calculations on his PDA, most likely looking for which bank had the best interests rates for his betting earnings. He then slapped his forehead. "That was supposed to stay in my mind! Stupid Foley, stupid, stupid, stupid."

"My… birthday present?" Sam asked as a bit of pink came to her cheeks.

"Mmmm You've got yourself a sweet boyfriend, Sam." Valerie smirked.

"Boyfriend… I like the sound of that." Sam smiled slowly.

Valerie and then waved. "I'm off, see ya at your house, Sam. Your birthday's tomorrow, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, just remember that my parents will probably wonder who the heck you are and try to be rude. Just yell for me and I'll save you." Valerie laughed and walked off. Soon Tucker and Sam said goodbye to each other and went their own ways as well.

**zzzzzzzzzzzz**

**Okay Danny's fine, see? And he even gets a girlfriend! That's right, the two lovebirds are together now. Though now we also see some insight into where the odd Ectopus came from and we learn that Vlad's scheming and so is Paulina.**

**So I hope you liked the chapter and tell me if you guys still like how this is going. To be honest, It's been a while since I've watched a lot of the Danny Phantom episodes, and so I'm a bit rusty on everyone's characters. I've started re-watching some of the episodes, but I've got a ways to go. So yeah, I technically do wanna make them act a bit older too, so a bit OOC, since this story is kinda if they'd been aging over three years in the show.**

**Okay I'm done now. **

**zzzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**TheWorldOfUniversalPower: Maybe do a chapter on Danny and Tucker playing the Danny Phantom game?**

**NoSignal: Maybe not a whole chapter. I'll see what I can do though. :)**

**yaissa-chan: diosa esta genial, sera que al ser danny medio fantasma le protegio? dioses quien sera el que crea a esos ectopus? estoy esperando con ansias el proximo capitulo**

**NoSignal(Span): Espero que este capítulo respondió sus preguntas :)**

**NoSignal: I hope this chapter answered your questions :)**

**Savirox: Wah ! That's so cool ! Are they demons or something ?**

**NoSignal: I'll go ahead and clarify now that they're not demons persay. However the ghosts' soul has been corrupted.**

**Great: [Mentioned the fact that I have two big stories that are ongoing]**

**PS Why do I think that Vlad will ally himself with Dan? And maybe Danny is crowned as King of Ghosts?**

**PSS Have you ever seen a series named 'Dragon Booster' and how they promised us a sequel but never made it?**

**NoSignal: Yeah don't worry. In fact, I just updated Kalos Arc. It's still at a chapter a week. Haven't decided regular updates for this story yet, except every other day until my buffer is gone. I don't abandon stories just because I get tired of an idea or anything, which technically I'm not tired of Master Challenge by far. I just felt that since I was getting within the last travel Arc and then the last two or one Arc of the story (five Arcs done and under my belt) that I could allow myself this story too. As for your PS questions, I can't answer the first couple for obvious reasons but the PSS one, well I've actually never heard of Dragon Booster before, but I do sympathize. I don't like it when a show ends before its time. I think Danny Phantom had been planned to go on for another couple seasons but they had to end it with Phantom Planet instead. Anywho, I hope this quells your worries and answers some of your questions :)**

**zzzzz**

**Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, fav'ing, following, and being awesome.**

**~NoSignal**


	6. The Language of the Dead

**The next chapter, Huzzah!**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_My self-worth is not linked to your cruel words and actions. My self-esteem is not affected by your deliberate attempts to destroy my character. You have no power over me. You will not silence me.__"__ ~ Marina Cohen, Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories_

zzz

The next day at school was mostly uneventful and as evening started to come, everyone invited to Sam's birthday party started to move towards her home for the party her parents had decided to throw. The party was of course high class since her parents would never have it any other way and as a side effect of her not mentioning her and Danny's relationship to them, she was mortified to find out that Pamela had invited several young men or what she called 'suitors' to the party. Sam really hoped that Danny and the others would get there soon.

She was walking down the stairs towards the large den when she heard the doorbell ring. Several adults and their kids from the country club were already there, so she was hopeful that it was Danny or one of her other friends at the door. She had on her dark purple dress she'd gotten from the Skulk and Lurk and had pulled a bit of her hair back into a flat ponytail. As she made her way around the bottom steps and headed towards the door, a voice halted her.

"Samantha, how wonderful to see you again."

Sam froze in slight shock and anger at not only being called Samantha, but also by the familiar tone the voice had. She turned slowly and came face to face with someone she hadn't seen in years, Nicolaas Bakker. He was someone her mother had introduced her to ages ago. He was high class and perfect in every way, just like her parents wanted. The most cynical part of Sam believed her parents only wanted her to marry him one day as to have _him_ as their son. The Bakkers had known her family since her Grandmother's era. Nicolaas had on a lighter blue suit and tie that matched his grey-blue eyes that always seemed cold to Sam; his blond hair was combed neatly to the side. He had the shallowness of Paulina but his intellect was far greater. In fact, he was on par with Sam and they tended to be constantly trying to out play each other. It was a domination thing for him and it made Sam madder than anything.

"I guess it has been a while, excuse me. I need to get the door," Sam spoke curtly and tried to walk away.

"Hm, Sam before you go, I'd like you to take a quick look at your present. I'm quite nervous about whether or not you'll like it. You know, since we haven't seen each other in so long."

Sam hissed slightly under her breath before a little sigh escaped her. "Fine, wha-" She paused when she felt something cold and a little heavy go around her neck. She glanced down and could see it was a gold necklace with several diamonds set on it; A much larger diamond nestled between the other diamonds as a pendant.

"A type of luxury only people like us can enjoy, Samantha. Isn't it beautiful? Diamonds reflect the beauty of their wearers."

Sam honestly was not really excited about the piece. It was just metal and carbon… meaningless really.

"It's very nice, Nicolaas." She managed to choke out. He seemed suspicious of her answer but backed off.

"Good." He silently watched her walk away from him and towards the door. She opened it and saw Valerie and Tucker arguing about something on her doorstep. Valerie had on her dress she'd bought at the mall and Tucker was wearing a dark green suit and tie; he'd wanted to go with white to be super flamboyant as always but he didn't like the idea of looking like the GiW.

"Nicknaming your PDAs is an issue, Tucker. I understand your love for technology but you need to draw a line."

"Ah come on, Ginger never did anything to you."

"Guys?"

Valerie and Tucker turned and laughed nervously at the smiling Sam. They followed her inside.

"Nice bling you got there, Sam." Tucker grinned and gestured to the necklace around her throat.

"Oh it's um… something Nicolaas gave me. Guys I need help. Mom brought like four different suitors here including someone I thought was ancient history!"

"Excuse me?" Valerie asked and placed her hands on her hips.

"She doesn't know about Danny and I being together. By the way, where is Danny?" Sam asked.

"Either A working on finishing your gift or B a ghost popped up." Tucker sighed.

"Or C all of the above." Valerie mentioned.

"It's seems I'm unfamiliar with your friends here, Samantha."

The three friends flinched and turned to see Nicolaas standing behind them or perhaps hovering.

Sam frowned. "They're my close friends from Casper."

"Oh yes that school your parents decided for whatever reason to let you go to?"

"It was the other option in Amity other than boarding school like you."

"Morrison High is a great place. I wish you were there. I think you'd come to understand your parents' wishes a lot easier."

"And be brainwashed, no thanks."

"Now Samantha…"

They paused when they heard the doorbell ring.

"Excuse me." Sam mumbled and walked off to answer it, leaving Tucker and Valerie with Nicolaas. He glanced at the two with a disarmingly charming smile.

"Yeah, and you are?" Tucker nodded.

"Nicolaas Bakker, an old acquaintance of the Manson family and I believe your Mr. Foley and Mrs. Grey, correct?" Nicolaas looked at Valerie. "A true shame that you were so suddenly brought to lesser living standards Mrs. Grey. I do hope your father finds another more reputable job soon."

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "We're perfectly content with what we have."

Nicolaas laughed. "That's what they all say. It's okay to want."

"Dude, not everybody needs excess," Tucker replied, crossing his arms. He knew he already didn't like this guy.

"I suppose you'd know?" Nicolaas implied craftily.

Tucker and Valerie were glaring at him while he continued to act as though they were continuing a pleasant conversation. All three looked up though when they heard Sam and Danny's voice.

"Sorry for being a bit late. I was finishing up some things."

"It's fine, Danny, really."

Tucker noticed Nicolaas clench a fist and narrow his eyes when he saw Sam subconsciously grab Danny's hand while reassuring him. Danny was wearing a black suit and tie and looked quite sharp.

"Nice necklace."

"Oh yeah… I got it from an old acquaintance today."

"Oh… are… are they real?" Danny murmured, looking at the diamonds, and Sam could see a slightly deflated look in his eyes.

"Of course they are. Only the best."

Danny and Sam glanced up at the other three when Nicolaas had spoke.

"You must be those ghost hunters' son, correct? Aren't they an interesting couple of characters?"

Sam almost immediately felt Danny tense up beside her. People mocking his parents or their professions was a sore subject for Danny and it always seemed that people liked to stoop to that level to get under the boy's skin. She glared at Nicolaas but he merely smiled right at her face.

"They can be goofy but they're great parents," Danny replied simply.

"Ah, they are very lucky to have such a loyal son," Nicolaas answered back.

Danny was going to speak again about the implication of that sentence when Pamela and Jeremy's voice rose above everyone's saying it was time for Sam to open her presents. All of them headed that direction. Sam went to sit and start unwrapping all the gifts there. She got a variety of gifts like clothes, a new computer, and even more jewelry. Valerie had gifted her with a book from the Skulk and Lurk which got some looks from the other guests there and Tucker had gotten her a couple of video games that Danny and he'd been playing together and Sam had wanted to join them in.

Danny finally moved closer and passed her a long red box with yellow ribbon. "I hope you like it. It's missing a piece but there's a good reason for it. I need to get one more piece. My uh collection ran out."

Sam cocked her head and opened the box carefully to reveal a string of ghost crystals, each the size of her thumb, on an onyx chain. A spot was empty in the very center where a pendant should be. When she moved the necklace slightly, the crystals clinked together like glass and sparkled in the light. Her mouth was open and she was speechless.

"If you know you don't like it I can try and get something else," Danny murmured and rubbed the back of his neck.

"God Danny, it's gorgeous. Did you make it yourself?" Sam asked.

Everyone in the crowd was silent and Nicolaas looked like he'd been slapped.

"Ye-yeah. I'll tell you more about how, later maybe." Danny smirked.

Sam smiled. "Help me put it on?" Danny smiled back and nodded. She carefully took off Nicolaas' piece; Danny grabbed the two clasps Sam handed to him and he put the necklace on her. She looked back at him after it was set and beamed. "Thank you, Danny."

"What on earth _arrre_ those gems?" A large woman asked, as the man next to her looked through a monocle.

"No gem I've never seen. They're certainly not diamonds."

Danny gulped. "They're uh ghost crystal."

A bunch of murmurs started up around them and Pamela frowned and stepped forward.

"Samantha Manson, take that monstrosity off this instant! Who knows what horrible things it could do to you!?"

"Mom! Calm down! It's fine. They won't hurt me."

"Mrs. Mason, I've kept them close to my person for the last few days and nothing happened. Believe me, they're completely harmless."

Pamela immediately turned on Danny. "You and your parents' uncouth dealings with ghosts and goblins is sick! I will not stand it! Anything about ghosts is revolting, vile, and strange. Such things do NOT belong under my roof or near my daughter."

Sam and her friends could see Danny flinch with each thing she said. Sam started to become enraged knowing just how much her mother was saying was truly hurting Danny.

"Mom, Shut. Up."

The room grew still and Danny looked over at Sam with eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Sah-Sam… don't," Danny spoke. She turned and gave him a strong look.

"No, I will not let her say those kind of things to my boyfriend!"

"Your what!?" Pamela and Jeremy yelled at the same time.

"Sam…" Danny whispered and his eyelids drooped a bit.

Sam grabbed his hand and stood closer to him when she looked back at her parents. "I really really care about Danny and I know he feels the same about me. So get over it. Danny's kind and wonderful to be around."

"Wooh! Go, Bubleh!"

Everyone glanced over and saw Sam's Grandmother sitting in her scooter, smiling at Sam and Danny.

"Daniel's a good boy and a very brave one. I think you couldn't have caught a better fish!" She added.

"Mother!" Jeremy spoke up.

"Oh hush child, I know what I'm talking about. He isn't any sort of ruffian and he really cares for our Sam. If you'd pay more attention you'd know that!" The elderly woman winked at Danny and he cocked his head in slight confusion at her supreme confidence in him.

Danny turned and looked at Jeremy. He made his back straighter and looked the man dead in the eye. "Mr. Manson, sir. I really do care about your daughter a lot. It's taken me a long time to realize how much though. I would like to be in a relationship with Sam, please sir, ma'am." Danny finished by addressing Mrs. Manson as well. Before they could reply, Nicolaas spoke up.

"But will you be able to provide for her. You know, she has a much higher standard of living. I'm not certain you can afford her, Fenton. Those crystals aren't diamonds or even quartz. They're some sort of strange material no rarer than macaroni noodles."

Sam growled, "I'm not for _sale_, Nicolaas. Other than that, that type of crystal is made by only certain ghosts." She glanced very quickly at Danny while smiling and then back to Nicolaas. "He had to collect it over a period of time for a while I'm sure. I love it and that's all that matters to me, not the price."

Nicolaas frowned. "I just don't understand it, Samantha. Why you'd wish to be with someone like him. The choices you've made in life are starting to concern me."

Sam was furious but paused when Danny walked forward. He got to right in front of Nicolaas and realized he was at least half a foot taller than the high class young man. "First off, Sam likes to be called Sam. If you cared about her at all you'd know that or not ignore her wishes. Second, you seriously have control issues. I don't care what you say about me or what you think about me, but if you start judging Sam then we will have a problem."

Nicolaas glared back. "Is that a threat?"

Danny didn't respond.

"Very well. This isn't over though, not yet." Nicolaas replied and walked off into the crowd, picking up his parents along the way and exiting the home.

The rest of the party guests diffused slowly and left awkwardly after that. Danny and Sam said goodbye to Tucker and Valerie and then were confronted by Sam's parents once the house was empty of everyone except Sam's family, Sam and Danny.

Jeremy looked over Danny and spoke flatly. "Daniel, I think it would be best if you left for the time being."

Sam was going to open her mouth but Danny grabbed her hand and looked at her with a smile. He looked Jeremy in the eye again and nodded. "Yes sir. Have a good rest of the evening…" Danny turned and walked out, but not before giving Sam one last smile over his shoulder.

"Samantha…"

_Oh crud._

zzz

Danny walked along the road towards his house in deep thought. Normally he would've flown home, but he needed some time to think to himself about the party. He hoped that Sam had still enjoyed her birthday _some_…

As Danny walked past an alleyway, his ghost sense went off a split second before a strong arm wrapped around his arms and torso and a hand clamped over his mouth. He shouted through the hand-gag before being pulled into the alleyway. There was only one person that could sneak up on him like that and hold him still while he struggled with all his might.

"Hello, Daniel." Vlad spoke from behind. Danny growled since he couldn't form a understandable sentence with Vlad's gloved hand in the way.

"I see you've gained not only a new ability but also a new ally. I'm pretty sure Valerie is no longer going to play the game my way… I may just have to do something about that."

Danny tried to kick Vlad and then started to increase the temperature around the two of them with his hot core. Vlad chuckled lightly. "Daniel, do you know what's hotter than fire? Electricity." He ended his sentence darkly. Soon Danny felt electricity traveling up and down his spine from the place on his back that Vlad was shocking. Danny's muffled scream pierced the air as Vlad halted the attack and continued to talk. "I suppose you could just say this is my way of declaring that I understand and accept the newest rules added to our game. What would she be? A Bishop, surely not… That's more dear Jasmine's game... Maybe a Rook for her one-track mind or a Pawn for her gullible nature? I mean I already know who your Queen and Knight are." Before Danny could growl at that, his head was slammed into the wall of one of the buildings making up the alleyway. He was released at the same time and in seconds, Vlad slipped beneath the earth and was gone. After a moment of lying on the ground, trying to get his bearings back, Danny lifted himself up and and stood wobbly. He clutched the right side of his head and realized the blow had made him bleed.

_Great. Just great. _ Danny walked towards the street after he wiped away some of the blood on his head. The cut was already no longer bleeding and so he took the time to clean himself a bit more and continue towards his home.

zzz

The four people in the den were quietly staring at each other, trying to decide who should speak first and whether that would give them the advantage or the disadvantage. Finally, Sam's parents couldn't hold back anymore.

"You do realize what the people at the Country Club will think now, right, blatantly being rude to Nicolaas and then saying that Fenton boy is your boyfriend?" Pamela replied stiffly. Jeremy was actually being very quiet. Sam was surprised; it seemed Danny's move to look the older man in the eyes had had some kind of effect on her father if only slightly.

"He is not just my boyfriend, but has been my best friend for a very long time. I would trust him with my life," Sam replied effortlessly. "This is the one thing that I will beg you to, for once in your life, grant me without a struggle. This means a lot to me."

"But his family, Samantha, he's simply not good enough for you!" Pamela responded.

Sam bristled at that and rose from her sitting position. Grandma Ida frowned and watched her granddaughter tear into her daughter-in-law.

"Stop that! His parents are kind even if they're goofy, he admits that! Don't ever say he's not good enough! You've hardly had the opportunity to try to know him. You were too busy trying to smear his character!" Sam snapped.

"Samantha, don't speak to me like that!" Pamela retorted.

Quite suddenly Jeremy became part of the equation in a way that confounded Sam.

"Honey, maybe we should give him a shot. He seems serious to me," Jeremy spoke and placed a hand on his wife's arm. He then looked at Sam seriously. "However we'll be watching and if he steps out of line, then we'll have problems. Understood, Sam?"

Sam gaped at her father for a moment before she nodded slowly.

"Jeremy, darling are you sure we can trust that boy?" Pamela murmured.

Sam realized with a jolt that during this conversation, something again surprised her. Her parents, in their own weird and rude way, were trying to give her the best… They thought Danny wasn't good enough not for _them_ but _her _and they were worried about trusting him with _her_. Valerie was right, even if they often really pissed her off and could be callous and rude, never take your parents for granted. Sam happened to lock eyes with Ida and she seemed to notice the pride in her Grandmother's eyes; she knew that Sam had noticed. Ida often tried to be on Sam's team for a lot of fights she had with her parents, but she also tried to explain to Sam why her parents did what they did. Ironically, Sam had been as close-minded as her parents in some ways…

"I suppose we can see, but heed what your father said, Sammy-kins," Pamela spoke and was shocked when her daughter hugged her for the first time in a long while.

"Thanks mom, thanks dad."

zzz

Danny got home and told his family about the party, leaving out some of the things Nicolaas and Pamela had said about him and his parents. Afterwards, he went upstairs and took a shower before talking to Jazz in hushed whispers about his encounter with Vlad on the way home. He'd certainly have to tell Sam, Tucker, and especially Valerie sometimes soon about Vlad's acquired knowledge.

He finally plopped into bed and started to slip into slumber around eleven thirty when his ghost sense fled from his mouth. He sighed and slipped from bed intangibly and flew out of his room before transforming midair, outside. He glanced around for a few moments.

"Who's there!? Show yourself!"

He was answered by a blast of energy to his gut courtesy of Skulker.

"Hello Ghost Child, let the hunt begin again!"

Danny was recovering from crashing into a large public trash bin in the alleyway between his house and his neighbors, when Skulker flew down and grabbed the Halfa by the throat. He pulled his other hand out with a large glowing knife on it and pointed it at Danny's face. Danny responded swiftly and kicked Skulker in the stomach as hard as he could, getting himself released. Danny then switched to his hot core before blasting Skulker with orange flames from his hands. Skulker dodged and stared at Danny quietly, making Danny stop and give him a confused look.

"Skulker? You in there?"

Skulker replied, "You _do_ have control over a cold and hot core then… Such types of ghosts are exceedingly rare. You're even more of a prize than before."

Danny let out a exasperated breath.

Skulker raised his gun and fired again. Danny dropped from the sky by letting gravity take him, to barely miss the laser fired at him. He then cloaked himself in ghost flame and shot at Skulker like a comet, slamming into him again and partially melting a bit of Skulker's suit once more. The difference this time however was Skulker's back up plan. The Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter pulled back his right fist as it started glowing with electricity and ecto energy. He pounded it into Danny's side. The teen hero gasped in agony and shot towards the earth as the fire around him vanished. He crashed into the street and immediately transformed back into Fenton. Skulker landed on the ground and marched up to the boy, aiming his cannon weapon to deal the, possibly, ending blow. He paused when he saw Danny's blue eyes gazing up at him. They were half lidded in weakness and yet there was no fear there, if there was it wasn't for his own well-being.

Danny let out a wheeze. "Would you hunt the others? Just enough so that my parents don't have too much on their hands… You wouldn't be doing anything out of the norm."

Skulker rose a brow. "Are you asking me to partially take over your duties if I should kill you?"

Danny didn't respond to that question but asked one himself. "What'd you hit me with?"

Skulker humored him. "A ecto-disruptor. It drained you of a great deal of your power quickly."

"No wonder I feel like crap. Got to give you credit for that one."

Skulker kept his eyes locked onto Danny's before he lowered his weapon. Danny watched as Skulker scowled and seemed to be having an internal battle of some sort before he spoke to the Halfa again. "You better give me a better hunt next time." Skulker then un-expectantly used his jetpack and flew off. Slowly Danny felt his body start to reclaim the energy he'd lost just as he heard his parents running up from the lab in the house. He had just enough power to switch into Phantom and disappear into the ground. He got back into his room and turned back again into human form. He slipped under the covers, waiting for his healing to work on the couple of cracked ribs he was sure he had and he started trying to think of why Skulker had just let him go…

zzz

**A few minutes prior to Skulker's visit**

The kids had gone to bed and the two adult Fentons were working down in the lab. Jack was fiddling around with a new invention of his that would cause sonic waves that would daze ghosts, while Maddie was busy watching all the newest clips they'd gotten about the Ghost Boy. Recently the two parents had been considering, she used that word hesitantly, rethinking their view on him. He had seemed to have gotten into a regular schedule of helping people and hadn't done anything suspicious in the last month or so. On the flip-side, she still wanted to dissect him and understand why he was so different from the other ghosts. His power too was growing and that worried her more than anything; for if he was just waiting for the right time to strike, Maddie wasn't sure she and her husband could handle it. She'd never seen a ghost, with the ability to switch between cores, up close before. She had a theory that powerful ghosts could do it, since she'd gotten some numerical data from the Tornado ghost; she would have gotten data on some others she'd seen but alas the large Plant ghost had had her under control and the Wisconsin Ghost was difficult to predict. She watched a few clips of the Ghost Kid using his new fire powers and as she did, she paused the footage to zoom in on something she thought she saw.

_There it was… _

"Stubble?" Maddie asked aloud and got Jack's attention.

"Hm? Oh well I was letting it grow out a bit so I could properly show Danny-boy how to shave!"

"No not you, Jack. Phantom! Look!"

Jack moved to occupy the his wife's side and saw what she did. On the young ghoul's jaw were white pin pricks of light glowing stubble starting there.

"Huh," Jack mumbled. "A costume change? He doesn't have them anymore. Did he shave? Do ghosts shave?"

Maddie shook her head in confusion, "Ghosts can't mature this slowly… They're supposed to only change shape if they're given the ability to transform their bodies or if they've acquired new energy from something. It's like he's… alive."

They both turned sharply when they heard a small crash outside.

"GHOST!" Jack roared and grabbed some gadgets. Maddie did the same, but not before taking one last glance at the frozen film of Phantom. _If he could mature, then did that mean he could feel emotions too? The lines she thought were drawn had grown blurry over time._

zzz

**A week and a half later**

The next week or so went by somewhat normally. During this time, Danny had told his friends about Vlad's appearance, which had made Valerie even madder at the millionaire, and had Danny even mentioned Skulker's strange behavior to them. Team Phantom had since then been on alert, waiting to see what Vlad could be up too, but they hadn't noticed anything suspicious. This morning the four friends were approaching school and Danny was talking about a dream he'd had the night before.

"The person was cloaked from what I can remember. He was mumbling something about righteousness…"

"Your dream is probably just that, a dream. We played a lot of the New Age Tomes and your Danny Phantom game, online last night. I bet they merged into a crazy dream when you fell asleep," Tucker spoke not looking up from his PDA.

"You don't believe in prophetic dreams? I mean ghosts exist and your best friend is half one," Sam asked the techno geek.

"Naw, just a coincidence."

The four friends mostly dropped the topic after that and headed for Mr. Lancer's class for English.

zzz

In English, Danny ended up falling asleep, probably due to Ember's visit the night before. More specifically because of the several waves of energy he'd been hit with from Ember's guitar. His body was asking for a bit more rest.

Before Mr. Lancer could turn and even notice Danny, or before Sam could nudge him awake, something bizarre started to happen. Danny started to speak in his sleep… In Latin.

"Cum bonum, non est obscurum. Justum erit oranti, qui malus. May gladius quidam animae est et adhaerebit Malus eligit gloria super avaritiam. De iure vero rex expellat tenebras. Expergiscere gladii animae vires, et semel de somno."

By the first sentence, the entire class was staring at Danny as well as Mr. Lancer. After Danny had finished, he grumbled in his sleep and let out a seemingly relieved sigh.

"The heck was that mumbo jumbo Fen-turd was saying!?" Dash shouted in alarm.

"It's probably some spell the freaky Goth put on him. A love spell or something." Paulina snorted.

"No Paulina… that's actually Latin Daniel was speaking," Lancer replied cutting off Sam's sharp reply she was going to make. He looked at Sam and Tucker both. "I had no idea Daniel was bilingual."

Sam stumbled. "He uh… isn't? He's just been reading a lot of ancient stories about legends and stuff."

Dash coughed into his hand, not really trying to hide his next words. "*cough*-Geek."

The A-listers and some of the other students laughed, before Lancer gave them a glare and cut them off.

"Oh… I see…" Lancer replied to Sam's answer, though he didn't mention that he didn't think reading over a story even with subtitles of some kind would account for how easily Daniel had used the language and dialect. He knocked on Daniel's desk and the boy shot up.

"Sorry Mr. Lancer!" Danny yelped as a reflex.

"Try to keep your head, Mr. Fenton. I'm almost desperate enough to let you bring a caffeinated drink of some kind." Lancer murmured the last part under his breath.

The lecture went on without incident after that, though Danny was getting more looks than normal now, some who were suspicious but most were mocking.

After school was over, the four friends went to the library to try and figure out what to do about Vlad and also what in the world Danny had said in Latin. They weren't the only ones though wondering what the cryptic words meant.

zzz

As soon as he parked his car in front of his apartment, the Mr. Lancer practically ran up the stairs to his place and disappeared into his study. He tossed his briefcase into another chair before sitting in front of his computer. He knew a decent amount of Latin but there were a few words that Daniel had used that even he wasn't familiar with.

To be honest, Mr. Lancer wanted to understand why Daniel didn't do better in school above all other questions; after all education was one of the most important aspects of Casper High's students' lives that he had authority to be involved in. As for Daniel's constant trips to the bathroom and absences, it wasn't really his business; for all Mr. Lancer knew Daniel had a medical issue and his personal life outside of school wasn't much of his business either. Something though, something told the bald teacher that his other questions could be answered if he figured out why Daniel's grades had fallen. Danny had been a honor student at one time but at some point it had been like someone had flipped a switch. It had oddly been about the time of the young man's lab accident. At first Lancer thought something had damaged him from the accident, which would certainly be understandable, but slowly he'd noticed that Daniel seemed still mentally capable if not still above average. It wasn't by his homework or test results the teacher knew these things though, it was in the rare moments Daniel participated in class discussion and other small signs that he knew. He wasn't a teacher for nothing after all.

He focused back on the task at hand and went to translate the few words he didn't know with a translator on the computer. After using his known knowledge of the ancient and practically dead language, he wrote down the translated version of Daniel's words.

_"When there is good, there is darkness. Justice must be the one to quell the evil. May the Sword of Souls cleave malus asunder and choose glory over greed. The rightful king shall banish the darkness. Awaken, Sword of Souls from your slumber and gain strength once more."_

He furrowed his brows and started to look up those words and phrases on the internet. Ultimately he could find no ancient story, tale, poem, parable, fable, novel, or even folk tale that had any of those words. Lancer was stumped. Where on earth could Daniel had gotten those words from? What were those kids really hiding?

zzz

"What is that supposed to mean?" Danny asked and scratched his head. The four friends had just heard Sam recite the translated version of the words Danny had spoken. Tucker had been smart enough to record Danny's voice on his PDA a few seconds after Danny had started speaking in class.

"Sword of Souls… Does it mean the Soul Shredder, Fright Night's weapon?" Tucker asked.

"I'm not certain. I couldn't find any story recounting these lines," Sam replied with a sigh.

"So what do we do?" Valerie spoke and looked at Danny. "And why on Earth did Danny start speaking these words and in Latin no less?"

"My theory is that Latin is the base language among ghosts. Many people believe it's the language of the dead. I think Danny could speak it all the time but hasn't really tried before." Tucker nodded.

"Maybe if you try thinking about it like you do to transform, it'll happen," Sam offered.

Danny shrugged and closed his eyes for a brief moment and then spoke.

"Numquid is opus?" (Did it work?)

"Whoa! Duuuudde, so cool!" Tucker beamed.

"Yeah nice Danny," Valerie agreed.

"Okay so should we maybe see if Clockwork knows anything about it?" Sam asked. "I mean when we can find the time. Vlad's kinda a bigger priority at the moment and Clockwork is often vague anyway."

"Ego assentior." (I agree.) Danny nodded before he clapped a hand over his mouth.

Everyone looked at Danny.

"Uh, English, dude."

"Conatus sum!" (I tried!) Danny exclaimed and threw up his arms in frustration.

"Lovely." Valerie sighed.

"Quomodo stare!?" (How do I stop?) Danny yelped and wove his fingers into his raven hair.

"Try and think about it again," Sam spoke and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny sighed and nodded before a mischievous twinkle came to his eyes. He grabbed Sam's hand and spoke.

"Prius ego facio, Sam meum, te respice pulcher." (Before I do, my Sam, You look beautiful.)

He then closed his eyes and spoke again.

"How about now?"

Tucker sighed. "Glad that's over."

Sam was still looking at his face after he'd turned it to look at Tucker. "What did you say last?"

Danny looked back at her with a blush. "Nothing…"

"So the plan with Vlad?" Valerie asked and leaned back in the chair she was sitting in.

Everyone looked at her and then each other. Danny finally replied. "You can't ever out-play Vlad, so the best thing to do is wait and hope we can provide damage control during or after the fact."

"That sucks," Valerie spat.

"Vlad sucks." Danny smirked.

After talking for a little bit longer, the group decided to go to the Lab since Danny's parents had again gone to a meeting at Axion. They wanted to do some battle practice. Sam and Tuck did some physical exercise and practice shooting with ghost weapons, though Sam was much better at the physical work, even if Tuck was improving and actually starting to show skill with his aim; _he_ claimed it was all the video games he played. Danny was practicing with the targets and obstacles and working with his ecto blasts, ice and fire. Valerie was doing something similar only with her weapons and suit. At one point, Danny asked to practice his Wail so they slipped into the Ghost Zone, just inside the portal, and Danny worked to use his most powerful attack.

Danny took a deep breath and then let loose the sorrowful sounding sound waves. Valerie had never heard it or seen the Ghostly Wail before and realized again that Danny could've really hurt her if he'd wanted to before she found out his secret. The sound was one that seemed to leave an empty feeling in anyone who listened to it. Sam explained that she and Tucker had figured out that the Wail's sound changed depending on the emotions Danny was feeling when he used it; it could sound angry and full of fury, sad and full of longing, desperately sorrowful, or scared and fearful. Long after Danny was done, the noise echoed in the zone.

"Not bad, Danny. Three in a row without transforming back into Fenton. You're getting better," Sam spoke up.

Danny floated back over to them with a wide grin as he placed his hand on the porthole of the Specter Speeder. "Yeah I feel pretty tired but not overly so. Eventually I want to make it to where I can use it at least five or more times before I'm forced to change back."

With that, they returned to the lab and finished with practicing again a tiny bit more. Something interesting happened though when Danny was working with his ghostly fire. He was trying to see how hot he could make a fire ball when suddenly it turned blue, lost it's form, and seemed to crackle, burn Danny, and then flash out of existence.

"Heus!" Danny shouted in Latin and gripped his hand.

"Huh?" Tucker asked and everyone looked at their friend.

"I think that's Ouch in Latin," Sam replied and looked at Danny's burnt glove. The Halfa shook his hand a couple times and she saw the skin start to smooth and not look blistered while the glove started to thread itself back together.

"What happened?" Valerie asked.

"I burnt myself somehow," Danny muttered. He explained what he had been trying to do and Tucker's face turned thoughtful.

"Huh, maybe it got too hot to remain in gaseous form or fire form so the ectoplasm turned into plasma or electricity."

"Electricity?" Danny murmured under his breath and then hmmed in thought.

The group finished training as dinner time came around. They said their goodbyes and left for their homes for the evening.

zzz

In the Ghost Zone within the Fright Knight's lair, his sword, the Soul Shredder, was resting within a Pumpkin as the ghoul regained his strength. Suddenly, the blade began to wiggle and then glowed a bit and became a shade of green that was a tiny bit more blue, a faint cyan.

zzz

**The next day at school in Gym**

"Move a little faster, Mr. Fenton," Mrs. Teslaff droned.

The last class of the day for everyone in Danny's grade was gym that day. Mrs. Teslaff had started the class off by having them do laps around the football field; Danny, of course, as well as Tucker, were having to keep themselves in check about how fast they ran as to not raise suspicion. Sam didn't have to worry and either did Valerie since everyone knew them to be athletic enough. Danny sighed under his breath and went just a tiny bit faster to try and semi-please his coach. Eventually the laps were done and Mrs. Teslaff instructed everyone to work with shot-puts.

Everyone worked with them with varying degrees of success. Danny was doing pretty badly just because he had to make it seem that way, though he wasn't doing as badly as some of the nerds. If one looked close enough one could see the lack luster in each toss he made. He occupied his thoughts with his curiosity about how far he could actually throw the shot-put if he really tried with everything in his power. Danny heard a panicked cry and turned to see Brandon fall on his back with the shot-put in his hands but on top of his chest too. Dash, Kwan and the other jocks immediately swarmed like wolves, laughing and jeering at the down boy. Mrs. Teslaff told the jocks to stop but she didn't really seem to try any harder to ward them off after a couple attempts. Danny shouldn't do anything; it would jeopardize his secret, but watching them all gang up on Brandon was just more than he could bear. Danny shouted.

"Stop! Leave him alone, you morons!"

The group of five jocks turned abruptly and glared at Danny. Brandon's eyes went wide. Dash marched up menacingly. "What was that, Fentonio?"

Danny glanced over and locked eyes with Brandon and gave him a half smile before he glared into Dash's eyes, which he at least no longer had to look up to do so. He could sense Sam, Tucker, and Valerie tense up behind him, since emotions were easy for him to read even in human form.

"I said leave him alone, Dash. Find something better to do with your time than pick on people. You hit them, they bleed, it's a reliable outcome. Beating or wailing on somebody doesn't make you so great or strong in the end," Danny spoke evenly.

Dash laughed, "It _does to_ show that I'm stronger."

Danny frowned and let out a sigh. "Yeah whatever Dash, seems like a hollow victory to me."

Dash growled and shoved Danny, causing him to fall to his rear.

"Let's see how well you handle the pressure," Dash taunted and dropped a shot put over Danny's lower gut. Purely running on instinct, Danny snatched it before it could strike him, with one hand, seemingly effortlessly, and his bicep shook the slightest bit from use.

Everyone seemed a bit surprised. Danny blinked and then pretended he lost his strength and his hand struck the ground between his legs before he slipped it out from under the ball of metal.

Dash narrowed his eyes and grabbed Danny by the front of his gym shirt. "What kind of trick are you trying to pull. You holding back or something? I may not know much science, but I can tell when one of my players isn't at his best. It's one of the Quarterback's jobs. So why would you hold back, Fenturd?"

"That's an excellent question Mr. Baxter." She looked at Danny. "Fenton, I would like you and Baxter will each throw a shot put and if you hold back, then I'm going to fail you. I don't see why on earth you'd be purposefully doing poorly in a class you could do better in."

Danny gaped a bit and grit his teeth slightly at Dash before he sighed. "Yes ma'am."

Dash grinned and stalked over to the rest of the shot-puts while everyone else gathered around to watch the top jock and the cute but geek Fenton, compete.

Dash went first. He picked up the sphere and spun himself in proper form before tossing the shot with all he had, letting out a short roar of effort. The shot soared and then struck the ground. Mikey ran off with the tape measure behind him and shouted back that it was at a distance of forty two feet.

"Excellent work, Baxter. That throw's a little bit above average for a high schooler," Mrs. Teslaff praised. She then looked at Danny. "Fenton?"

Danny gulped as the jocks sneered. He glanced at Sam, Tucker, and Valerie. They all had a determined look on their faces. Sam nodded. Danny put on a determined face as well and picked up a shot-put and stood where Dash had.

"Good luck, Fen-toad! You're going to need it!" Dash mocked and the other jocks laughed.

They all flinched when Danny looked back at them with a very serious look on his face. Everyone knew Danny as a non-violent sort and he rarely got testy with anyone, except Dash and some of the jocks. This look however was new and some people actually were a bit spooked by it. This look was daring, determined and didn't belong on the laid back, kind, Fenton's features. For some odd reason his look seemed to belong to someone else...

"You know, Dash? You really need to shut up." With that, Danny turned and started to spin before he let out a shout and tossed the sphere. He held back of course, because if they saw a shot-put fly through the air like a comet, there'd be questions and maybe experiments, lots and lots of painful experiments. The shot-put did soar though and right pass Dash's too. It landed with a thump and everyone was still. Mikey remembered how to breathe and then jogged forward to measure, though it wasn't really necessary.

"fifty point six feet!" Mikey yelled. He looked at Danny who was looking at him evenly like he knew the greatest secret ever. "Danny wins."

Two thirds of the class in Danny's grade, erupted into cheers. He turned to look at the stunned Mrs. Teslaff and nodded before talking a towel and walking towards the locker room just as the bell rang. He had finished washing off the sweat and got out of the shower by the time all the guys wandered into the room, oddly Dash and a few jocks were missing. Danny noticed a few guys notice he for once didn't have a shirt on in the locker room. His bare torso was showing and a few scars from the Ectopus were visible. Danny avoided eye contact and rushed into a stall to change.

zzz

Back in the field, Brandon was quietly putting up some supplies and stuff because he'd told Mrs. Teslaff he would. He was thinking about Danny standing up to Dash for him and how he'd truly done what he'd talked to him about. He'd helped him. Danny was right, anyone could be a hero. A smile came to Brandon's face at the thought until he heard whispers. The band geek finished putting some smaller towels into a bucket and quietly moved towards the bleachers. He listened to the whispers and started to make out the voices of Dash, Kwan, and a few other jocks.

"Dude, Fenton totally schooled you!"

"Who knew the dweeb had it in him?"

"Shut up, Kwan. You too, Tyson."

"What's wrong, Dash? Mad?"

"Mad? Mad?! Of course I'm mad! Fenton somehow threw that shot-put farther than me!"

"I wonder if he's been holding back all along? I mean did you guys see him in the locker room? The guy actually _has_ a chest and abs."

"No way, he wouldn't keep putting up with Dash otherwise."

"Okay look here. We've got to get back at Fentonio. He just got lucky you guys were seeing things."

"Why do _we_ need to get back at him?"

"Why? Why!? Duh, because we can't have a _geek_ upstaging us!"

"Uh Danny upstaged _you_, not us, man."

"You don't get it! _I'm_ the Quarterback, so if he upstages _me_, he upstages all of _you_."

A few grumbles showed they begrudgingly agreed.

"Alright, you guys know the party happening in a couple weeks?"

"Yeah."

"Well for some reason, Paulina actually _invited _the dweeb and his geek squad. Technically the party's for the entire class but I was hoping they'd forget those losers. Anyway, I think for some reason she's leading him on or something. That's when and where we'll strike. Here's what I've got in mind…"

Brandon listened closely as their voices grew even more muffled and he had to hold back a gasp at what he heard. He backed up hurriedly and ran off towards the locker room so the jocks wouldn't know they had been over-heard. They were going to humiliate Danny. They were going to humiliate Danny because of _him_. Brandon wheezed and caught his breath once he got to the showers. A sad and frightened look took over his features before he slipped away to get dressed in his day clothes now that school was over.

**zzzzzzzzzzz**

**So everything still flowing well? This is the first time we have a week gap or so and was the skip to gym class weird at all?**

**Tell me what you think of the chapter! :)**

**zzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**transmetaljohn: [Mentioned the nature of Dan Phantom's name being uncreative was wondering if I was considering using a more unique name for him]**

**NoSignal: The way I see it is that Dan Phantom could care less what he's called. He's been called so many names in fear and scorn that it doesn't matter to him anymore. Team Phantom simply needs a name to call him and Dan Phantom is the closest thing to a canon name for him (even if that was only in a Game Boy Advance game). So I hope that's okay with most everyone. I honestly don't see Dani's name as very creative either, but eh that one's definitely canon. :)**

**Great: As for Vlad, why do I think he woke up something extremely bad AND THINKS he's the only one that can control it? Idiot. **

**PS I wonder, will they go to the myth's and lore section of the library. Its just that when you don't find something through normal means, then you need to search lore or history for it.**

**NoSignal: Perhaps, Vlad tends to do that sort of thing, but... maybe _he_ didn't wake it up. ;) Myth's and Lore section? Hm... if the answers aren't too far in the past...**

**NoSignal to reviewer Ethan Demas: Sadly I couldn't quite grasp most of the questions you were asking. If english isn't your primary language then I believe the translator you used mixed some of the words up or something. Afraid I can't answer since I'm not hundred percent positive what you were asking. :) Thanks for the review though.**

**NoSignal-To All Readers: Thanks so much for all your kind reviews, favs, follows, and support!**

**zzzz**

**Thanks to you all!**

**~NoSignal**


	7. Party Favors

**Let's get to it already!**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

_"Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what's right" ~ Theodore Roosevelt._

zzz

The four friends walked home together after gym class, talking about Danny's performance in front of Mrs. Telstaff and the other students.

"Dude! Did you see the look on Dash's face!? Priceless, absolutely priceless!" Tucker howled in glee.

"I've got to say, totally made my day to see that," Valerie smiled brightly.

Danny was just smiling until Sam wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Feel good to show a bit of you strength?" Sam smirked. Normally she was very conscious of making sure Danny didn't pull many pranks with his powers, but this one she'd openly agreed to.

Danny puffed out his chest a bit and grinned, "Sure, I just can't help but wonder what Dash would've thought if I'd _really_ thrown it."

"I bet his eyes would've bugged out of his head!" Tucker wheezed from his laughter and wiped away a tear from his eye. He was enjoying this way too much.

"He's going to be pissed though," Valerie replied.

"I guess since he somehow figured it out that I haven't been using my all, though he's off about how much so, he might try to prompt me to fight back next time he corners me. I'm going to have to be even more careful than before." Danny sighed. "I know I just couldn't watch them torment Brandon like they were. I think my obsession is getting stronger than it was."

"Obsession?" Valerie asked.

"Every ghost has an obsession they harbor after death. Half Ghosts have them too. Danny's is heroics. Balancing your obsession helps keep one from becoming corrupted or lacking humanity. A ghost's obsession roots them to their humanity, especially for full ghosts." Tucker expressed.

Danny smiled and leaned over to speak into Sam's hair. "Passionis est tibi, Sam." (My passion is Sam)

Sam flicked her eyes over to look at him and smirked. "I guess I'm going to have to learn Latin or something or maybe get a translator?"

"Seems like it," Danny smirked right back.

"You mean like one of those voice activated translators?" Tucked asked.

"No I mean like a human translator. I know this guy named Matthew that knows over twenty languages. He used to work for the United Nations," Sam replied.

"That'd be awkward on dates," Danny mentioned.

"Noted. The dinky little voice activated one it is."

Tucker perked up when he realized something. "I guess Danny's actually almost trilingual since he's been learning Esperanto for Wulf too," Tucker smirked as he whipped out his PDA.

"Huh, look at Danny, knowing three languages," Sam teased and poked his chest.

Danny flushed slightly and smiled, "I told you I could do better in school if I had the time."

"I bet you'd have overturned Dash as most desired boy in Casper if you'd have gotten the chance to live normally. Most of your original famed clumsiness near the later half of Freshman year was when you were learning how to use your powers." Tucker shrugged. "I would've been second or tied with you because we're double trouble." Danny rolled his eyes and Sam bumped Tucker with her shoulder slightly, which made him fumble with his PDA and almost drop it. Tucker gave Sam a slight glare and petted his precious device while Sam rolled her eyes.

Valerie looked up at Danny. "Do you ever wish your life was normal?"

Danny paused for a moment. "Sometimes… but… I don't think, as things are now, that I'd want to give up my ability to protect people." Sam squeezed his hand and he squeezed back in return.

_-Bing-_

"Whoa," Tucker spoke up.

"What is it?" Sam asked and Danny and Valerie turned to look at Tucker.

"I just got the invite for the four of us to that party Paulina wants Danny at," Tucker replied. He looked up at the others. "What should we do?"

"I say Paulina can shove her party up her-" Sam started and Danny glanced at her.

"I agree with Sam on this one," Valerie replied and crossed her arms.

"Aw come on! We finally get really and truly invited to a cool kid party and we aren't going to go?" Tucker whined. "I could've found a girl!"

Sam had to hold back a chuckle at the somewhat pissed look that came to Valerie's face. Danny saw it too and furrowed his brows in confusion at her sudden change in behavior. Sam saw Danny and shook her head at his still chronic cluelessness.

"I just think we could check it out. Who knows, maybe it'll be fun. Besides this party doesn't just have A-listers. Paulina said it's a class party, everyone in our graduating class is invited," Danny spoke up.

The other three turned to look at him.

"I'm siding with Danny on this one!" Tucker blurted out and raised his hand.

Sam and Valerie glanced at each other and sighed.

"Alright…" They both replied at the same time.

"Yes!" Tucker grinned.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides we can leave at any time." Danny smiled at them both and they seemed only half satisfied with that.

Regardless though, they were going to the party.

zzz

**The beginning of November. The day of the Party. Paulina's house.**

After a somewhat calm day, if you don't count Danny having to suck the Box Ghost into the thermos of total of five times that day and a surprise visit from Youngblood who only stopped to ask Danny if he thought his Astronaut suit looked cool, the four friends got ready that afternoon and arrived at the party together that evening.

The party was being held at Paulina's house while her parents had offered to go on a trip at the time to give the house to the graduating class. It was a bit sketchy since there was supposed to be _some_ kind of chaperone, but no one complained.

Honestly? They four friends made a pretty darn good entrance. Danny was wearing a toned down version of his party outfit, namely a black shirt with a white opened jacket, though he was wearing blue jeans with them. Sam was wearing her new dark green shirt with the rest of her normal day clothes. Valerie was wearing her typical outfit and Tucker was wearing a red polo with the rest of his typical attire. Danny and Sam walked in holding hands as the four friends looked around.

"Looks hoppin' to me!" Tucker grinned excitedly. He locked eyes with a group of nerds he knew, consisting of Mikey, Brandon, and Norman. Norman had brown hair and thin round glasses; he was taller than both Mikey and Brandon and was dark-skinned. Tucker smiled at Danny "Come-on, lets go. Sam and Valerie could use some girl time together, right?"

Danny glanced at Sam and she nodded contently. He smiled back and let go of her hand before walking off behind Tucker. They approached the three nerds and greeted them.

"Saluton mia popolo," Tucker spoke first in Esperanto for fun. (Hey, my people!)

Brandon was about to turn and translate for Danny, since he thought perhaps he didn't know what was said, but was halted by Danny's voice.

"Vere mian popolon? Sendistinge, saluton infanoj," Danny added (Really, my people? Regardless, hey guys.)

"Mi ne sciis ke vi povus paroli Esperanton, Danny," Mikey replied. (I didn't know you could speak Esperanto, Danny.)

"Tion, tri lingvojn? Kiel vi faras tiel malbone en iuj klasoj?" Norman added. (That's what, three languages? How are you doing so poorly in some classes?)

Danny chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "It's kinda complicated."

"Hey Danny, I just wanted to thank you, you know… for the other day," Brandon mumbled.

Danny smiled, "No sweat, Brandon."

"I've got to say, fifty plus feet is an impressive distance. Certainly nothing to laugh at," Mikey spoke nasally and adjusted his glasses.

Danny shrugged. "I've never thrown a shot before, so I didn't know."

"Maybe you should be in Casper High's Track Team!" Norman spoke with a kind smile.

Danny got slightly nervous. "Well uh… sadly I don't think I have the time."

Brandon had grown quiet and was staring at his shoes as Danny talked with Tucker, Mikey, and Norman about a variety of things. He happened to glance over at a raised stage that had been set up in the large foyer of the home for dancing and saw Dash and Kwan peaking out from behind some stage curtains. They were glaring at Danny. Brandon started to sweat and gulped before trying to gain control of his worry. He looked over at Danny and spoke. "Hey Danny-"

Danny and the others turned to his voice and Danny tiled his head but gave a welcome smile. "Yeah Brandon?"

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you…"

"Oh Dannnnyyyy!"

The five people turned to see Paulina, Star and a third girl with slightly slanted eyes and dark wavy hair with tan skin, named Megan, walking towards them.

Norman frowned slightly. "What in the world are they up to?"

"Who knows," Danny murmured.

Tucker leaned in, "Keep your eyes peeled. Last thing you need is a mad Sam."

Danny gulped, "Yep that's true."

Right after that, Paulina spoke again.

"Hey Danny, nice outfit. You look great."

Danny shifted uncomfortably. "What is it you want, Paulina?"

She continued to smile. "Me and the girls were just wanting to get your opinion of some ideas for decorations we have for the second party later in the school year. They're ghosts and we wanted to make sure we got every detail right. You being the son of Amity Park's best human ghost hunters, can help, right?"

Danny sighed and glanced across the room at Sam and Valerie who were enjoying the punch and chatting happily. He turned back and nodded. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

Paulina clapped her hands together. "Perfect, right this way, Danny."

Danny walked off, following the three girls.

Brandon gulped and looked back at the stage even though the jocks weren't there anymore.

"Whelp. I'm glad I charged my PDA," Tucker shrugged and pulled out the device.

"Why's that?" Mikey asked.

Tucker replied, "Because I will bet there's a decent chance that this night might end with a cat fight between Sam and Paulina and Paulina will defiantly loose. That's a fight I want on camera."

Norman rose his brows. "Wait are you saying-"

"Paulina's totally hitting on Danny for unsavory purposes. She doesn't really want to date him permanently. She just wants to have said she broke his heart or something stupid like that. I guess she think's he's 'decent' looking now." Tucker grumbled some as he tapped a few buttons.

"Oh," Mikey responded.

"Shallow, shallow, shallow," Norman shook his head. He glanced at Brandon who had been staring at the stage still. "Hey man, you okay there, Brandon?"

Brandon snapped out of his trace and gazed at the others. "Oh… uh, yeah. I'm fine, don't worry about it."

The other three glanced at each other before shrugging and going back to talking.

zzz

"That really happened?" Valerie smirked as she took another sip of her drink.

"Yep, those first few months were scary. Danny kept slipping through everything, even the floor. It's a miracle no one saw," Sam replied.

Valerie laughed a bit.

Sam frowned and then smiled. "Hey Valerie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, uh… for not wasting Danny for starters after you found out and uh for being a good friend to me."

Valerie seemed surprised.

"I've never actually really had a girl that was a friend before. I mean me and Jazz get along well enough but she's older than me and at college at the moment," Sam added.

Valerie smiled. "You're welcome to both things. I'm glad to be your friend too." They both smiled at each other before Valerie spotted something behind Sam. "Huh-oh."

Sam turned and looked over her shoulder. "What?" She figured out what, after she'd turned. She saw a final glimpse of Danny's back as he disappeared into a hallway, following Paulina, Star and Megan.

"What do you think that's about?" Valerie spoke with suspicion in her voice.

"Danny… he wouldn't do anything like that," Sam hissed under her breath.

Valerie replied, "I wasn't implying that. I'm worried about Paulina."

Sam cut her eyes away in anger. While most would see a jealous and angry person, Valerie could see the tiny bit of fear Sam was hiding.

zzz

They got to a room, which turned out to be one of the bedrooms in Paulina's massive house. The room had cut-outs of various ghosts scattered about in it. One was of the Box ghost, another was of Skulker, Desiree, Technus, and then one ironically of himself.

"Well, what do you think?" Paulina asked.

Danny turned and tried to force a kind smile. _Maybe they were being honest._ "Well Skulker's mohawk is green not blue and Desiree's clothes are blue not red, but other than that they look pretty accurate."

Paulina grinned happily. "Wonderful!" She turned to look at Star and Megan. "Would you two mind going to get the other two cut outs? You know, the Lunch Woman and the Spooky Knight ghosts."

The two girls nodded and left the room.

"Uh, it's the Lunch Lady and Fright Knight."

Paulina twirled around to look at Danny and gave a smile. "Oh! Oops, thanks for the info. People mis-name them so often…" She replied and put a hand to her mouth in semi-embarrassment.

Danny deadpanned in his head. _But you always mis-named Danny Phantom._

"Hey Danny, would you mind moving that Skulker cut-out to the other side of the bed to make room for the new ones?"

Danny looked over and nodded before walking over and bending to use his legs to lift the cut-out. It was pretty heavy for wood, but of course Danny could've lifted it with one hand easily if he didn't need to always continue his charade. He walked over and placed the cut-out were Paulina said she'd desired it. It was then he felt arms snake around his waist.

"Danny… Are you suuure you don't wanna kiss or anything?" Paulina drawled. She had immediately felt him stiffen. _Tch, I didn't wanna have to do this with Fenton of all people, but if it's the only thing that will break him from Goth freak._

"Paulina." Danny started, almost sounding angry, as he reached to grab her hands and pull them from his waist. He froze completely when she whispered in his ear.

"You sure you don't wanna loose your pants on_ purpose_ this time?" She asked in a quieter tone, slipping her hand up under his shirt and resting it on his stomach. She paused in surprise when she actually felt the muscle she didn't know was there. Danny's eyes had gone wide at her remark and he'd literally forgotten to breathe for a few second longer than normal. There was a pregnant silence before Danny started to shake a bit.

"What's wrong?" Paulina asked, slightly annoyed.

Danny almost ripped her hands from his waist and glared at her, surprising her.

"I should've listened to Sam a lot sooner. I figured you were shallow, but this…" Danny grit his teeth. "You don't care about me. You never did. I don't think you get it or something, Paulina. You made fun of me, taunted me, defamed me in earlier grades. Why would I want to show that kind of love towards you afterwards?"

Paulina kept a flat face.

Danny frowned. "Paulina, you'll never find satisfaction or lasting happiness this way. Please, for your own sake, try to rethink the way you look at things. Try to find someone special. Try to make friendships that matter and last." Danny walked past her. "I'll see you later, Paulina. Have a good night."

Danny was halfway to the door when Paulina finally spoke.

"You aren't worth it anyways. Someday Inviso-bil will fall in love with me. He at least has good taste in girls."

Danny paused and turned to face her again. "Sam is wonderful and beautiful. Don't dare talk like she isn't again or we'll have a problem. Second, Danny _Phantom_ won't love you."

"How do you know!" Paulina increased her volume, in defense of her hero. Danny paused not sure how reply until-

"I know him and he'd say the very same thing I did," Danny replied simply and left the room. He didn't see Star leaning against the wall to his left, outside the door. He walked towards the stage, which could also be reached from the hallway he was in, to get down from the other side. Star was frowning and looked into the room to see Paulina staring out the bedroom's window with an irritated look on her face. Paulina whipped around and walked outside and found Star.

"Inviso- I mean Danny Phantom loves me, right?" Paulina asked Star.

The young blonde was still frowning. "I think you need to talk to him more to figure that out, Paulina. Not every love story starts with love at first sight."

Paulina gave her an impatient look, before Kwan ran past. Paulina noticed the jock's urgency and stopped him.

"What are you doing, Kwan?"

Kwan spoke hurriedly, "We're about to spring our trap for Fenton. It's revenge for upstaging us in gym before."

Star frowned slightly and Kwan actually seemed a bit worried at the blonde's reaction.

"Perfect. That dweeb needs to be put back in his place," Paulina replied. "Tell me where the best view will be."

Kwan replied hesitantly, "Probably… the rest of the main room, bellow the stage you know? I gotta go like right now, Dash will kill me if I'm not in place." The jock then took off. Paulina smiled and motioned for Star to follow her.

zzz

Sam, Valerie, Tucker, Norman, and Mikey had all joined up into one group to talk. Brandon had disappeared somewhere and they all turned to follow Sam's gaze when she spoke.

"There's Paulina, but where's Danny?"

The group saw Paulina and Star walk out from the hallway where'd they'd left with Danny before. The two girls then found a seat and seemed to be looking at the stage. Star had on a frown and Paulina seemed happy. It wasn't too much longer before Megan came and joined them.

It was at that moment they heard a commotion and looked up at the stage.

Danny had been heading across the stage and was two thirds of the way across when Dash jumped out from the curtains and shouted.

"Gotcha, Fen-toad!" The blond jock then pulled a rope.

"Danny look-out!"

Danny was shoved away from where he'd been standing and fell to his rear a bit farther across the stage. From the ceiling or the rafters, came a stream of some kind of sticky tar-like substance and feathers. The mixture landed on, Brandon.

The entire room was quiet. Danny looked up after he'd hit the ground and saw Brandon standing where'd he'd been with tar and feathers covering him. Oddly enough, for once, no one was laughing at the band geek's expense.

"Damn it, nerd! Fenton was supposed to get that!" Dash growled and picked the dirty Brandon up by the front of the shirt.

"Put him down, Dash."

The jock looked up and almost flinched when he saw that same serious look in Danny's eyes like he'd shown in gym.

Dash quickly reclaimed his cool. "What are you going to do about it, Fenton?"

Danny then started to march forward and then he shoved Dash, hard. The jock was so caught off guard that he let go of Brandon and fell backwards onto the wood floor of the stage with a hollow thump, flat on his back. Danny reached out and caught Brandon's arm to keep the boy from falling over.

"You okay?" Danny asked.

Brandon nodded. "You were right, it _can_ be as scary as facing a dragon."

Danny smiled but then noticed Dash had pulled himself up and was marching towards them again. Danny directed Brandon away right as Dash landed a right hook on Danny's jaw. It made a loud smack noise. Danny stumbled back a step. He then heard Sam's voice.

"Oh Hell, no!" Sam started marching towards the stairs to join the three boys on stage. "I'm going to kick you in the family jewels so hard-"

Danny was about to tell Sam to stand back when Dash snorted. "Goth geek, you're really settling for less than great with Fen-turd. I kinda actually pity you. Let _me_ show you a trick or two." Rage erupted in Danny's gut when heard the implication in Dash's words. He punched Dash in the gut, hard. The wind flew from Dash's lungs swiftly.

"Shut-the-hell-up, Dash!" Dash swung another punch at Danny's head and Danny grabbed the jock's fist very quickly and squeezed. Dash could actually feel a little pain from Danny's grip and stared at the boy.

"How?"

Sam grabbed Danny's shoulder and yanked him back from Dash before Danny could speak. She marched over and grabbed Brandon's too, who had been watching numbly and left the stage with her cargo.

"Let's get out of here, before I loose my cool," Sam growled.

"This isn't over, Fenton!" Dash yelled.

Danny whipped his head around and for a split second, Dash thought he saw Danny's eyes glow green. "Get over yourself, Dash! Grow-up!"

Danny, Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Norman, Mikey, and the sill dirtied Brandon, all left the party together.

zzz

"Brandon, how'd you know about the trap?" Danny asked as the seven people walked down the practically empty and quiet street.

Brandon smiled nervously and looked away. "After gym, that day you stood up for me, I overheard their plans. I was really afraid to do anything, but then I remembered what you'd said about how anyone can be a hero." He looked back and smiled at Danny. "You'd helped me at gym and after all that I thought I should return the favor, no matter what."

Sam smiled and looked at Danny. "Did you really say that? That anyone can be a hero?"

Danny blushed slightly and smiled. "Might have slipped out." He winked at her and then looked at Brandon. "Thanks Brandon, I really do appreciate it."

Brandon smiled back with more joy on his face.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Danny asked.

Mikey and Norman shared a look of slight confusion and Brandon beamed. "Good is an understatement."

Ultimately, Norman and Mikey walked home with Brandon and was going to help explain to his parents why he was practically tarred and feathered.

Danny and Sam decided to walk home together alone and Tucker and Valerie did the same.

zzz

Truth be told, Danny's always been a terrible liar. So why he thought he could weasel out of telling Sam what Paulina had wanted from him during the party, confused even him.

"Do you want to loose your pants on purpose?!" Sam fumed. "That witch!"

"I honestly thought she just needed some help since Star and Megan were there at first. I think she's given up on me though, if that's any consolation. I just can't believe she was willing to do that," Danny replied. He scratched the back of his neck, "I mean am I… am I that-?" He shivered when Sam rubbed the back of her left hand against his left cheek as they walked.

"You were cute before Danny, now… well you're attractive."

Danny swallowed and then smiled. "Thanks Sam." Soon after though his faced darkened and Sam noticed.

"Danny what's wrong?"

Danny looked up at her and shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's just… Dash. The things he said to you."

"He's jealous, Paulina's jealous."

He looked at her.

"He tastes like failure, okay? You smell like cinnamon and a forest, he smells like football gear. You two don't even compare."

Danny smiled and pulled out one of his hands from his pockets to squeeze her hand. "You're more beautiful than Paulina by far, in my humble opinion."

Just as they were nearing Sam's house, Danny and Sam leaned in close and shared a long kiss.

"Hey… You do realize we can do the Spider-man kiss much easier than other people," Danny spoke after they'd parted.

Sam smacked him on the side of the head lightly. "You dork."

Danny smirked a bit.

"This is just fine… in _my_ humble opinion," Sam replied before she swiftly kissed him again. He deepened the kiss and finally they broke apart once more.

"So you have wished it, so shall it be," Danny replied with a smile.

zzz

"I can't believe Dash tried that stunt," Valerie grumbled.

"I can," Tucker shrugged with his hands in his pockets as they walked. He had his earbuds out and was listening to music from his PDA but only had one bud in one of his ears, so he could hear Valerie out of the other.

"And Brandon, he really helped Danny like that just because he told him anyone can be a hero?"

Tucker smiled at that. "You have to understand, Danny's been that way for forever. He has that effect on people. He's always been mostly righteous and every great now and then he'll let his temper get the best of him or he'll maybe take something or someone for granted, but everyone does that. He was even that way before his powers. I think that's why his obsession became heroics." He glanced at Valerie. "Do you know the story behind why Dash likes to pick on Danny the most? I remember you weren't a part of Casper High until seventh grade."

Valerie shook her head. "I always wondered though."

"It's because Danny would always try and stop Dash from picking on others. Eventually Dash grew tired of it and started wailing on the only person that wouldn't bow. I'd known Danny for a while and I felt he was doing the right thing so if I got shoved in a locker due to association, then I suppose it was my little contribution to the cause."

"I guess then... Danny's been a hero for a long time, even before Phantom."

"Anyone can be a hero, it's true ya know? Maybe not a superhero, but a hero."

"I guess Phantom made it easier and harder at the same time."

"Yeah, definitely more complicated, like school, and parents, and curfew, and my crush on yo-" Tucker froze and then stuttered, "And school, and ghosts-"

"Wait, what was the one before school?"

"More complicated?"

"No, you said school twice."

"Curfew?"

Valerie put her hands on her hips and noticed Tucker was sweating nervously. "No."

"School?"

"Tucker!"

He cringed thinking she was going to hit him. "My crush on you!?"

Silence.

"You have-_had_ a crush on me?" Valerie asked softly.

Tucker twiddled his thumbs nervously after taking out his one ear bud. "Well I really liked you for a while, until you started hunting my best friend. Then you and he had a thing for a while… I don't know…"

Valerie sighed, "I'm really sorry. It's seems ever since I started hunting ghosts I've messed things up."

"You haven't been recently."

"Except apparently because of me, Vlad's mugging Danny on the street at night."

"He didn't rob Danny though."

"You _know_ what I mean."

"That would've happened eventually anyways. Vlad's always trying to find reasons to get mad at Danny since he won't become his creepy perfect son. I always think of _Stepford Wives_ when I think of that… I wonder if Vlad would be happy with a robot Danny. That would make things easier." Tucker mused.

Valerie chuckled softly and shook her head at Tucker's imagination. A silence then passed between them.

"Do you still have a crush on me or…"

Tucker looked at her and blushed. "Oh well… I mean… Maybe?"

Valerie cocked her head and rose a brow.

Tucker sighed and gave a crooked smile. "Okay okay, I would be lying saying I hadn't been thinking about it. I was thinking… that maybe-"

Valerie leaned over and kissed his cheek lightly. "I'd love to see how it goes."

Tucker beamed as she walked ahead and smiled at him before entering her home. After she was gone, Tucker pulled both arms down and one knee up in a victory-like motion and spoke out. "Yessss!"

He practically skipped home.

zzz

The next day at school was awkward to say the least. People kept staring at the four friends when they walked the halls and once or twice Danny could overhear people asking each other how wimpy Fenton could push Dash to the floor with one shove. More importantly though, Danny heard a couple jocks talking about Dash… saying that he'd thought he'd seen Fenton's eyes glow green. The good news was most people weren't caring about that, saying it was a trick of the party's lights.

They saw Dash once or twice, but he seemed to only glare at them.

During lunch, the nerds swarmed. Danny was like a superhero to them; if only they knew.

"Imagine, having the upper body strength to push Baxter to the ground!" One wheezed as they stood around Danny and his friends' table. Valerie had a slightly annoyed look on her face, Tucker was basking in the glory, and Sam was simply smiling at Danny from time to time. _This_ was the kind of praise he needed. Not some over crazed sort of praise that messed with his ego as it had before a time or two, but real respect, not true hero worship. Though Danny was nervous and trying his best to smile and be kind, she could tell he was truly filled with pride; it shone in his eyes.

"I think he was kinda off his guard though," Danny added with a little nervous laugh.

"According to several different rules from organized sports and activities I've looked up, one is not off their guard if there is eye-contact!" Mikey declared triumphantly. Several others nodded in agreement.

"Brandon was the real hero, anyways. He was willing to take the hit for me," Danny spoke up and looked over at Brandon who shifted nervously under everyone's gaze.

"I just wanted to repay you."

"And you did, ten fold."

Brandon gave a happy smile.

A ways away, Paulina was angry. Dash and his crew hadn't even come to the lunch room today and practically everyone that normally bowed down to her was giving Danny and his friends all the attention.

She stood and walked over to the trash can and threw her meal away.

"Paulina?" Star asked worriedly.

"I'm not hungry." She left the cafeteria. Star pulled her bag-lunch together and followed after her hurriedly.

After Lunch and final period, Mr. Lancer stopped Danny as the bell for the end of the day rang.

"Yes Mr. Lancer?" Danny asked with a slight frown.

Mr. Lancer weaved his fingers together and looked at Danny evenly. "Daniel-" He noticed the tiny flinch that came with the boy being called that, but continued.

"Something has come to my attention…"

He could see sweat start to form from nervousness.

"I'm concerned that you aren't working as hard as you could in your classes. First you start speaking another language in my class-"

Danny tried to speak but Lancer stopped him. "And then you out preform Dashell at the shot put." He seemed to become a bit worried which surprised Danny. "Is there something that's preventing you from preforming at your best, Daniel?"

He saw a light in Danny's eyes, like the beginning of some truth coming to the surface as if Danny wanted to say something, before it dimmed and Danny shook his head. "They were both just flukes, Mr. Lancer. There's nothing special about Danny Fenton."

He looked into Danny's eyes for the longest time, quite certain that statement was a lie, but in the end, he relented. "Alright, then… go on." Danny frowned and nodded before disappearing out the door. Mr. Lancer leaned back in his seat and sighed. He knew two things, he ultimately wanted to help every student he had regardless of how he behaved outwardly and he also believed there was something special about every person, even Daniel Fenton.

zzz

Danny, Sam, Tucker and Valerie walked down into the lab in FentonWorks that afternoon.

"Finally they had another meeting at Axion. I thought we'd never get the chance to slip into the Ghost Zone with the Specter Speeder with how often my parents have been in the lab recently," Danny spoke up before walking over to a control panel to turn the Spector Speeder on it's panel so it was facing the portal.

"So they're at another meeting at Axion not a convention or something? Geez, any idea what they're up to, Val?" Tucker asked and looked at Valerie with a slightly different look to his glance than normal. Danny and Sam glanced at each other in slight confusion or hesitation before both decided to not ask questions yet.

"No, daddy hasn't told me much of anything," Valerie replied.

The four friends were heading into the Ghost Zone so that they could hopefully talk to Clockwork and ask about the weird Ectopus thing and maybe even about what the words, Danny had spoken in Latin before, meant.

"I guess we'll find out eventually, no doubt." Danny smirked and everyone nodded in agreement. The three boarded the Spector Speeder while Tucker took the wheel. Danny transformed into Phantom and led them in.

After several minutes, they reached Clockwork's lair and entered the large double doors.

"Hello, children."

The four friends saw Clockwork float into their view and nod at them. The spirit switched to his old man form from his middle aged form, making Valerie flinch in surprise. That would take some getting used to.

"Hey there, Clockwork," Danny replied. "I'm just gonna cut to the chase, since you know… What was that Ectopus thing?"

Everyone looked at Clockwork expectantly. The old ghost sighed. "I was hoping that the timeline would choose to wait another few years, but alas…" He motioned them closer as he begun to explain.

"Do you remember that the Ghost Zone takes in all the lost items from the real world and that it's endless because thoughts and ideas are endless in the real world, hence the Infinite Realms?"

They nod.

"Well… excess emotions are another thing that is syphoned into this realm from the Human World quite easily. How else would it be such a suitable place for ghosts? Most emotions are easily diluted by the ectoplasm in the Ghost Zone or are devoured by other ghosts… only two things aren't as simple to account for. There's the emotion of Hate and the state of Purity."

"Huh?" Tucker asked a scratched his head.

"There is plenty of hatred and bitterness in the Ghost Zone, mostly because many ghosts have lingered for unsavory or deeply sorrowful circumstances. Because of this, Hate doesn't easily diffuse into the Zone because there's so much of it, often excessive amounts in the Zone and the Human World both sadly. We found out what happens when _too much_ accumulates… many years ago."

"What happened?" Sam questioned.

"Long before Pariah Dark was a problem, a dark creature formed from the bowels of the Ghost Zone from the remnants of hate from the Human World and Ghost Zone combined. It was nothing but pure hate and rage, wishing nothing less than the destruction of both worlds. It's name, was Malus."

All four teens looked at each other in worry.

"You are concerned since young Daniel spoke of this Malus, in Latin, correct?"

They looked back at him.

"Indeed… Malus is returning, but he has no fate per say, seeing as he isn't… or wasn't ever a true living being. He is quite literally merely residual energy from all kinds of creatures… so I can't follow him through time."

"What do you mean? You can see everything. That doesn't make since," Danny spoke worriedly.

Clockwork frowned. "Let me explain what exactly I mean by that with terms you may understand better. How do astronomers find the locations of Black Holes in space, Daniel?"

"By looking for their influence on everything around them, x-rays, electromagnetic radiation, clouds of interstellar matter, and stars are all common methods," Danny replied.

"Indirect detection…" Valerie whispered.

"Correct both of you, I can still find Malus and figure out his motives… It simply isn't as immediate of an answer as normal. I must assess everything he effects and then figure out his course through time from that."

"Okay then, was this Malus, the one that affected that Ectopus?" Tucker entered.

Clockwork nodded and a strangely dark look came to the normally stone-faced ghost. "His hatred… It is so deep and powerful that it halts the hearts of the living and corrupts the souls of the dead."

"Then… what about-?"

"That is where Purity comes in," Clockwork interrupted. "All creatures, dead and alive, hold some tiny fragment of Purity or Humanity, as named by humans. It helps guide our decisions and affects how we treat each of our emotions. Do we love deeply and with fairness or do we become obsessed and cause emotional harm to the one we claim to love. Do we hate for all time and only whom it is that made us angry or do we hate the thing that _caused_ _them_ to show cruelty to us? Do you see how this works? Emotions should all be used in moderation even the good ones like love and everyone has a different amount of Purity at times. Most often a human will lose half when they die and hopefully the humanity that remains will guide them to a peaceful place of rest or if it cannot overpower their obsession or hate in the end, oblivion."

"Then why wasn't I ki-?"

"I'm getting there. You see, because you are human _and_ ghost, you keep _all_ of your humanity. Your humanity also is no longer hidden within your soul like in humans. Much like Hakan spoke of, your entire soul is on the outside now and powered by your core, which is different from humans and ghosts both. It is for this reason that the Ectopus eventually was destroyed by touching you and you weren't permanently damaged by it either. Humanity or Purity immediately nullifies Hatred, like pouring water into an acid to weaken it. However, the Ectopus _did _still damage your human body. You aren't completely impervious to it's effects."

Danny looked down at the ground in thought. "Then does that mean, only Halfas can easily fight Malus and anything related to him?"

"Indeed you have a grand advantage. Malus is the reason we had only a few ancient and powerful ghosts left over able to do battle with Pariah Dark. Ghosts and humans can battle Malus, but they must show extreme precaution."

"How would humans and full ghosts attack though?" Valerie asked

"That's hard to answer."

"How can Malus be stopped? How long do we have?" Danny added.

"He can only form as collection of material once he has enough hatred, then he must find things to possess so to speak. If you can break through all the things he's taken and then vaporize his equivalent of a core, he can be destroyed for another millennia or so. The Sword of Souls can pierce his core and accomplish this. As for the time we have to come up with a plan? Months. He's weak right now and so far isn't causing enough damage anywhere so I can't see him. We can do nothing for now. Return to your lives, things will happen as they should."

"Because you _can_ see all the timelines after Malus' time here, right?"

"Indeed, Samantha."

They all glanced at each other worriedly. Danny looked one last time at Clockwork before they left. "What about the Zone? The Human World? Should we start warning everyone somehow?"

Clockwork closed his eyes. "I can not answer that because I can't interfere with the use of my knowledge. I can't go around warning people and ghosts when I see something bad approaching. Neither can you though now."

"Why?" Tucker whipped around.

"Because, I'm already pushing things by answering your question in he first place. Like I said, just live your lives and things will happen."

The four looked at each other again before walking out of the tower. Clockwork gazed into several of his viewing portals and saw they had large spots of black all over them.

"It will be a good amount of time before I can see clearly again. I just hope… things go in the way I nudge them." The old specter looked over at the dented thermos which was abnormally still and quiet.

zzz

Deep in the Ghost Zone, a purple humanoid shaped mass of gaseous material floated through the green void. It drifted silently along and eventually floated through the walls of the Observants' domain before sliding into the shadows of the dark room it was now in. In the middle of the room, was the Ring of Rage sitting on a fluffy pillow which rested on a pedestal. The Observants had used some of their technology to pull the ring from the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep after Pariah had been sealed inside _with_ it. They were still trying to find the Crown of Fire, which they believed was in Vlad's possession. The mass grabbed the ring after drifting quietly up the minuscule shadows on the pedestal. It pulled itself away from the pillow, floated above the ground and then slipped the ring on his left ring finger. Immediately the arm turned into something with more definition and form, like a real arm. It was skinny, still purple and not really powerful looking though.

"Curse… curse the boy… He took…" The mass could no longer speak and instead slipped away back into the void of the Zone.

zzz

**A couple weeks later. Fenton residence.**

It was a couple weeks later when something new happened. The four friends went through those days, fighting ghosts, going to school, and the norm, until the middle of November.

Danny had just gotten home and had picked up the mail from the mailbox since his parents were still in the lab since that morning. He saw a letter from Jazz in the bundle and smiled before walking inside. He opened the letter and read it, finding out she was doing well and she asked about how everyone was. He decided to email her later; for some reason she seemed to feel the need to write hand written letters while at college. He put everything on the table in the den and walked over to hear his parents working downstairs. He started making his way up to his room, wanting to take a shower and get some homework done.

After finishing up in the shower he threw on some clothes for inside the house. He was almost out of his room when his ghost sense went off.

"I swear it better not be the Box Ghost."

He walked over to his window and looked into the alleyway nearby to see none other than Vlad Masters standing there looking at him. He growled and transformed before flying through the wall and down to his arch-nemesis, hands blazing green.

"Okay Vlad, what do you wan-ECAK!"

Vlad had reached out and grabbed Danny's throat before he could respond and turned to slam him into the wall behind them. Danny's hands snapped up to Vlad's arm, instinctively trying to get the hand off his throat.

"I'm trying a new plan."

"You mean a new spin on the typical, make me your son and take mom as your wife gig?"

"Generally speaking, yes," Vlad replied and then squeezed Danny's throat tighter, making the young man lose his voice and start to kick his legs out in desperation. Each time his legs almost struck Vlad, the billionaire went intangible in those places. "Just sleep, Daniel." He saw Danny take a breath, most likely to try and breathe fire, since one he'd switched to his hot core and two, he'd blow his own home up with Vlad if he used the Wail. Vlad slammed his other hand over Danny's mouth and nose. "Ah ah ah, little Badger."

Danny's eyes widened as he fought for air. Vlad smirked as Danny's muffled cry of pain came out from behind Vlad's hand as the older Halfa used his Ghostly Stinger. Eventually Danny's eyes slid closed and his body went limp as he transformed back into Fenton. The multi-millionare had noticed that it was becoming a bit more difficult to knock the younger Halfa unconscious. His Ghostly Stinger only did the trick if prolonged, or if he was already knocked out, to _keep_ him unconscious. Vlad transformed into Plasmius and tossed Danny up over his shoulder just as he heard the whine of an Ecto gun.

zzz

**In the Lab. Ten minutes prior.**

Maddie and Jack were fiddling around in the Lab. Jack was working on trying to fix the Ghost Gabber still and Maddie was tweaking the Improved Ghost Gauntlets. She heard Danny come in and head upstairs and a smile came to her face. She was so proud to be protecting her city, to make it a safe place for her little boy and daughter. She frowned however when she remembered some time ago when Danny had almost become white as a sheet when she showed him and his friends the Ghost Gauntlets. Why would he become so upset? Though Danny had oddly gotten his grades up a tad recently, not that she was complaining, she was wondering what was really on her boy's mind.

Her thoughts were broken by the small beeping on a nearby monitor. It was their ghost field detector that they'd just finished installing that day. They had wanted to test it soon. At the moment, the device could only reach a few meters parameter around their home, since it required tons of energy to run. She had actually just turned it on a few minutes ago on a whim. She saw the appearance of one ghost bleep outside her home that disappeared, then another appeared immediately afterwards in her own home.

"Jack, get the Bazooka!" Maddie shouted and grabbed up a few weapons before running up the stairs. She had seen the ghost head for the alley nearby on the radar and so she flung open the front door as Jack barreled after her. She had to halt him when they heard voices. Was there still more than one ghost? How were they showing up and then disappearing on the radar? The Fentons peaked very carefully around the corner and saw something that completely blew their minds.

Vlad Masters was holding a struggling Ghost Boy, squeezing his throat. They heard their college friend speak.

"I'm trying a new plan."

"You mean a new spin on the typical, make me your son and take mom as your wife gig?"

"Generally speaking, yes," Vlad replied and then squeezed the Ghost Boy's throat tighter, making the young man start to kick his legs out. Maddie was certain Vlad would be hurt by the Ghost Boy's struggles but was confused to see the ghost's legs seem to pass through Vlad.

"Just sleep, Daniel." The pair of ghost hunters saw Phantom take a deep breath, most likely to attack, but Vlad slammed his other hand over Phantom's mouth and nose. "Ah ah ah, little Badger."

They watched as the Ghost Boy passed out after Vlad somehow electrocuted for a period of time. They had no idea how to react when they saw a bright white ring appear around the Ghost Boy's waist, separate, and slip up and down the specter's body, revealing… their son. They had to hold back a gasp when their college buddy transformed into the Wisconsin Ghost. He threw what looked like their son up over his shoulder and seemed to be ready to fly away. Maddie reacted, mostly on motherly instinct and not rationality or logic. She leapt forward with her Ecto guns drawn. The whine came to her ears and she growled.

"Drop him, spook!"

zzz

Vlad whipped his head around and cursed. "Butter biscuits." He grumbled under his breath and ignored her, taking off into the sky. _No going back now._

"Come back!"

He heard Jack yell out. He _did_ enjoy hearing that though. He eventually disappeared into invisibility and flew off. He needed to get to his mansion. It wasn't like those two had seen him transform. Even if they had somehow, they'd probably think it was a ghostly rouse of some kind.

It was only moments before he found himself in his mansion that was just outside of town, the same one he'd tried to destroy Danielle in last. He touched down and walked inside the large home. He kept going until he reached the dark lab space, underground. He placed Daniel in the same place Danielle had been; he'd altered the slab and the machines around it since then, but the location was the same. Vlad shackled Daniel's arms and legs in place, smirked and walked away. He needed to test some things and get some gear together. He had all the time in the world now. Daniel's friends would take much too long to figure out what had happened, Maddie and Jack wouldn't know where Plasmius goes, Daniel would be stated as missing and Vlad _Masters_ would do everything in his power to find him, the same didn't apply to _Plasmius_. Vlad _Masters_ was a man of his word after all. The only thing he wished was that Daniel's parents hadn't seen their son taken away in the first place. One tiny hitch in a plan was one too many in Vlad's opinion.

He gave one last glance back at the unconscious Daniel. No one would hear his screams and no one would miraculously save him this time. Vlad left the lab and shut the heavy metal door behind him, leaving Danny in pitch black darkness.

**zzzzzzzzzzzzz**

**Well **_**this**_** is quite the situation…**

**What do you think?**

**zzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**Great: PS I wonder what are your plans for Mr. Lancer. He wants to help Danny, but how is the question. As moral support? Informant?**

**NoSignal: I guess you'll have to wait and see :)**

**transmetaljohn: To be the richest man on the planet, this would make Vlad a billionaire or a multi-billionaire and not just a millionaire. Other than that, you were great.**

**I'm eager to see where you take this story and look forward to the next chapter.**

**NoSignal: Yeah I realize he's more than a millionaire. I guess I just opted to use millionaire as the adjective rather than being technical, but I'll keep it in mind and try to use multi-millionaire instead. If I can remember :P Thanks for the kind words by the way!**

**zz**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews and support of all kinds! It really means a lot to me. Sometimes it even surprises _me_ how much just the right review can motivate me :D**

**zzzz**

**Vlad: Snicker-doodles, I've got that Buffoon on my tail.**

**Jack: BANZAI!**

**Vlad: *facepalm***

**~NoSignal**


	8. A Family is Made Whole

**And here we go.**

**Sorry for the cliffy last chapter.**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes." ~ Walter M. Schirra, Sr._

zzz

Unfortunately for Vlad, Danny's luck seemed to like him only when it mattered the absolute most, other times it was often absent entirely.

Sam had a smile on her face as she walked down the road. She had decided on quite a whim to have dinner at Danny's. Though that wasn't in a of itself a bizarre thing, it _was_ kinda new to go with just him and his parents there and no one else. It was a relaxing way to 'meet the parents' even if Mr. and Mrs. Fenton practically knew her and Tucker like their long lost children. For some odd reason her parents had even consented. Little did she know, it would be the best coincidence ever.

She got to Fenton Works after her walk, only to see that the front door was open and crashing and rough movement was coming from the inside. She ran up the stairs to the door to looked inside and saw Maddie and Jack looking all over the place for something.

"Are you sure it's in the couch cushions, Jack!?"

"I remember having it on my lap when I was eating cheese puffs!"

"I really need you to try and remember better darling!"

"I know I know, Danny-boy needs us! Wait. Fudge."

"Fudge? Jack Fenton! We can't think of something so silly at a time like this!"

"No I mean the hidden Fudge compartment in the freezer! That's where the Fenton Ghost locato-maxium-portable device prototype is!" He charged, as Jack Fenton does, into the kitchen.

"We have a hidden fudge compartment there?"

Sam finally moved forward and spoke, "Mrs. Fenton? What's going on?"

Maddie looked over at Sam and frowned deeply. "That despicable Wisconsin Ghost! We saw him carry off Danny!"

Sam tried to not to gasp but instead an angry scowl came to her face.

"It was the strangest thing though. The Wisconsin ghost kept manipulating his and Danny's appearances. One moment it was like Vlad Masters was holding the Ghost Boy and then suddenly the Wisconsin Ghost was holding Danny! I've never seen form manipulation that used white black or any colored rings of light before."

Sam paled and gulped. "Really?"

"Hopefully Jack can find the F.G.L.M.P device quickly. It's much more effective than the Boo-merang and will help us find the Wisconsin Ghost since we have a tiny sample of his ectoplasmic electrical signature from when Jack beat him with the Ghost Gauntlets. I have to fix a few bugs, first though. I just hope Danny can hold on until a few hours from now."

"Found it!" Jack's voice boomed from the kitchen.

"That's great dear!"

Sam darted off once Maddie wasn't looking and ran down the street as fast as possible. She had to find Tucker and Valerie. They had to find Danny before Vlad did who knows what.

_What was that Fruit-loop thinking? Letting Danny's parents see them both transform? Did he even know?_ She pushed herself even harder than before.

She had always worried about Danny from the start, but now that they were something a little more than friends, an even deeper sense of dread filled her gut. She couldn't imagine Danny in pain at all anymore; the very thought almost made her _her_ of all people, cry. She just hoped she and the others could get there in time; Tucker's house now loomed in the distance.

zzz

Danny slowly opened his eyes and was slightly confused when he saw nothing but darkness. He could hear nothing and see nothing wherever he was. He tried to use his ghost powers to maximize his nocturnal vision abilities, but he couldn't even make his eyes glow.

He started to remember bits and pieces of what had happened, most importantly that Vlad was the reason he was wherever he was. After a few more minutes, he was beginning to become unnerved by how much the darkness and silence, minus his breathing, was bothering him. Finally, the lights came on, too quickly, ironically. They blinded him for a moment and he turned his head and squinted against the light.

"Ah good, you're awake."

Danny growled and glared at Vlad as he approached. His eyes finally adjusted to the light. Vlad frowned and then spoke again.

"I've come to a conclusion, Daniel. I can't clone you. Because as they say, you can't copy perfection and if I want a perfect son, I can't copy you. See the logic there?"

"Your idea of logic and my idea of logic are two different things, Fruit-loop."

-SLAP!-

Danny faltered for a moment. Vlad had punched him, kicked him, burned him, electrocuted him, and more, but this was the first time he could remember Vlad slapping him. For some strange reason, it hurt worse.

"You will not speak to your future father that way, Daniel."

Danny turned his head back forward to face Vlad. With a dangerous glare, Danny spoke, "You- are not- my father."

"After some time here, I think you'll change your mind." A cruel smile came to Vlad's face as he pulled out some strange device. It looked a lot like the Plasmius Maximus, but had red barbs instead of green. He plunged the device into Danny's gut and pushed the button. Red pulses of energy flooded Danny's system and he started to scream in pain. He felt his temperature rising, forcing him into his hot core and then beyond. He didn't even get the chance to react before somehow he was forced into his ghost form as well. Though he was now in his ghost form, he felt strangely powerless; maybe it had something to do with the odd green glowing shackles that were holding him in place. Vlad finally pulled the device away and Danny gave one last wail of pain as he stopped. Danny was panting and beginning to sweat when Vlad spoke.

"You see, this device forces a hybrid to switch into their ghost form. It's pretty much the opposite of the Plasmius Maximus. The unfortunate kink I've been unable to fix is that it messes with their powers. In your case it seems to be over exciting your hot core. I wonder if… you refuse to obey me, if irony will play a cruel trick and cause you to meet your demise the way your vile clone should've, hm?" He turned with a flick of his cape and walked out.

"I'll be back, Daniel. I'll come back with the other things I require and hopefully you won't need anymore persuasion. It does hurt me to hurt you, after all." The metal door slammed closed again and Danny was alone once more. He could feel the sweat rolling down his body and making his HAZMAT suit feel even more stuck to his body than normal. If he could move his arms he would've been tempted to pull at the collar of his suit; the heat was almost unbearable, suffocating. He could only wonder how he'd get out of this one.

zzz

"Vlad's got Danny!?" Valerie shouted.

"This isn't new, Val. Vlad has done this several times. We'll zoom in save Danny's butt and zoom out. Piece of cake!" Tucker explained.

Sam shook her head. "It's different this time, Tuck. Danny's parents saw him get taken this time and not only that but they saw the Ghost Boy turn into Danny and Vlad Masters turn into Plasmius."

"Wait…" Valerie paused.

"They weren't quite sure what they saw though… Point is we need to save Danny before they do figure anything out."

"Snap. Missing school?" Tucker asked.

"Probably." Sam sighed.

"Well I'm going to get grounded," Tucker grumbled. "Danny owes me big time."

"Tucker," Sam hissed.

"Alright alright! Can't you take a joke?" Tucker laughed nervously.

The three friends left the meeting place between Tucker's and Valerie's houses they'd found after Sam had called them and ran towards Fenton Works. They'd need equipment and somehow they'd have to get it without being seen. They did the most logical thing and went up into Danny's room, tip-toeing by the lab stairs. Once in their friend's room, they were able to find most of what they needed. Along with Valerie's suit they should be fine. Sam took notice of Danny's backpack up against his bed and the discarded clothes about. He must've been completely taken off guard or even thought it was just the Box Ghost.

"Let's go. I've been waiting for the chance to get back at Vlad," Valerie growled.

Sam nodded and Tucker followed loyally as they exited the Fenton home.

"The real question is which mansion of Vlad's would he have taken Danny to?" Sam asked.

Tucker pulled out his PDA and started searching for something. "I think he'd almost _have_ to use the one just outside of town. He has a meeting or two as mayor in the next two days." Tucker turned his PDA around to show Sam and Valerie the schedule that was on his screen.

"Then let's go. Get on." Valerie transformed into her suit and Sam and Tucker sat on the back together. All three then zoomed off.

zzz

He really could use a drink of water about now. He let out another shuttering breath. For all he knew, not a single person knew where he was. A tiny part of him feared that this time he wouldn't get away, but he kept trying to tell himself not to give up. He had to wonder though how much of this he could take.

"Wondering how much of this you can take, Daniel?"

He wanted to but he wouldn't dare groan out loud. He glanced up as Vlad Plasmius walked down into the lab. He shrugged and walked over to a keyboard nearby.

"Well this is it." Vlad spoke and slipped a few computer chips into the control panel that was beside the vertical slab Danny was strapped to. "This machine will contain your free-will into a more manageable form. You see I found this mineral, which is helping to power the machine. It's called the stones of Akili. You know the rumor about how salt is supposed to help keep ghosts away? Well turns out that's a myth, but there's always a kernel of truth in myths as people say. Witch-doctors used to use this mineral and throw it on ghosts as a powder, bringing them under their control. However, to control the ghost you have to know just how much to use. Too much and the ghost would be weakened greatly, too little and they fled. Good thing I figured out the formula behind this process. At least… I do know how much is too much… I just need to figure out how much is just enough and you're going to help me with that Daniel."

Immediately after Vlad finished talking, he pulled a lever and orange electricity covered Danny's body. At first it felt like Danny was going to go to sleep from the energy going through him. With a jerk of realization however, Danny realized that's just what the mineral was trying to do; it was lowering his inhibitions. When he tried to fight the mineral's effects though, pain flooded his veins. The young man screamed at the top of his lungs. Vlad looked over at a monitor and could see something of a graph. There was a horizontal line at the top which indicated the limit Vlad couldn't pass; there was a line below as well increasing like a graph line towards the top, but dipping a lot too. As he'd guessed, Daniel was fighting it. Vlad was grinning, as after several minutes of Daniel's shouts of pain and wails of torment, the graph started to slowly climb at a more stable state. The heat of the young hybrid's core and the machine with the stones of Akili were simply too much for Daniel.

*Ding* "Sweet-ums… intruders are approaching."

Vlad roared in anger and looked down at his watch. A tiny Maddie hologram appeared and informed him further. He hissed and turned the machine off. This process was one he couldn't just leave and come back to; Vlad had to be present and not keep his eyes off the machine's data and Daniel's progress. He'd have to deal with the intruders and then come back.

Danny's body fell limply against the shackles on his wrists and ankles and he let out a gasp of air which threatened to turn into a whine.

"Screaming for anyone is futile, Daniel. So save your breath."

Vlad disappeared upstairs and shut the thick iron door behind him. Danny wasn't one to ever listen to Vlad so he screamed, tears of desperation pricking at the corners of his eyes.

zzz

They touched down softly, a distance from the mansion and surveyed the area.

"Vlad probably knows we're here." Sam mused and looked around.

"Then do we just go?" Tucker asked.

"I don't think we have much choice," Sam nodded.

Valerie grinned in spite of herself, "Let's go."

The three friends ran towards the mansion and went inside. Valerie didn't pick anything up on her ghost detector, but she had been told by Sam and Tucker that hybrids often didn't active those types of devices if they were in human form and using little bits of power, like enough for invisibility. It was dead quiet in the mansion. No one was there.

"Where is anyone?" Tucker whispered.

"Maybe… they aren't here?" Valerie asked.

"But logistically speaking that doesn't make sense," Tucker spoke.

Sam crossed her arms and looked around. She glanced at Tucker and Valerie and they nodded.

"DANNY! DANNNNY! ARE YOU THERE!?"

All three of them split up, either they'd flush Vlad out or Danny would be able to call out to them… so they thought.

zzz

He could see his friends and hear them on the monitor that Vlad had turned on after leaving. He screamed louder and louder hoping they hear, but they never seemed to make a movement or paused as if anything had changed. Vlad appeared in front of him smiling. "I told you to save your breath."

He walked over and turned on the machine. Danny started shrieking as soon as he started to refuse the influence of the stones once more. The orange electricity sparked and flickered across his form as Vlad watched the line on the graph move and bounce higher and higher. "They can't hear you…" Vlad spoke in a sing-song voice. "They'll give up… soon enough."

Danny's cries of torment echoed in the metal lab and were halted by it's thick walls and door.

zzz

"They just aren't here. I even checked the way to the lab. It's not there anymore. He must've I don't know moved it? I didn't hear anything either, not a peep." Valerie shrugged and transformed out of her suit.

Tucker scratched his head. "It just doesn't make sense though… It's not… Vlad-esque? To be late for a meeting or something."

Sam shook her head and looked around worriedly one last time. Valerie placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find him, Sam."

"I know."

The three friends then started their walk out of the mansion. They were out of the front door and going down the dirt road, when Sam froze and stood stock still.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Valerie and Tucker asked at the same time.

Sam looked at them closely but then they saw her flinch again. She glanced back up at the mansion and growled. "Come on! Danny's in there! I don't know how I know, but I know!"

The three friends turned to dart back towards the mansion, when they heard some other voices.

"Kids, what are you doing here!?"

zzz

Vlad was laughing like crazy as Danny's friends walked out of the mansion front doors. Danny could only writhe in pain from the machine and continue to scream. His eyes, blurry from heat and agony, focused on Sam's ebony hair and shirt out of the three forms. He screamed again but for some reason nothing came out of his sore throat that time. At least, nothing verbal.

_Guys! Please! No! Don't GO! SAM! _

Vlad frowned when he saw the Goth girl pause. Danny was a bit confused, but both hybrids were wondering a similar thing.

_Did she hear that?_

_Did she hear something?_

Danny suddenly was overjoyed when they all three turned and came back towards the mansion. He didn't see his parents join the three or anything else after that, since he simply slipped into unconsciousness.

Vlad cursed. "Snicker-doodles!" Daniel had just slipped unconscious but Vlad had had to turn off the machine almost immediately. So very close to seeing if his plan had worked and yet he _had_ to go see to his intruders now. Maddie and Jack had appeared and the goth girl friend of Daniels' seemed to have figured out, somehow, that Daniel was indeed here. He again couldn't be absent while the process finished.

Vlad glanced down at the graph and saw just how close to the limit he'd had to go to even try and get Daniel under his control. The line was a few inches from going over the horizontal line on the graph. Perhaps the stones of Aliki weren't the right route after all. The risk of weakening Daniel too much was a bit too great. If he ever actually destroyed Daniel…

Vlad grumbled and shook his head. Before slipping through the ceiling with intangibility as Masters. He had to go great his guests.

zzz

"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, uh… what are _you_ doing here?" Tucker asked. Sam and Valerie both face palmed.

"Oddly enough, that spook seems to be hiding in Vlad's home. Maybe that's why it prefers to use his appearance," Maddie spoke.

"That ghastly ghoul! Taking on Vladdie's appearance like that!" Jack growled.

Sam and the others looked at each other before nodding. They needed to give the Fentons some kind of warning about Vlad even if it was as simple as saying that Plasmius could at any time look like Masters.

"Look it's not quite that simple, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Sam began.

"What's not so simple Mrs. Manson?"

Everyone turned around and saw Vlad Masters standing at the door.

Tucker grumbled under his breath to were only Sam and Valerie could hear. "Told you."

Jack jumped forward, "Vladdie, or is that really you, Vladdie?" Jack started happily and then his face turned into a scowl.

Vlad seemed to be surprised at first but then frowned. "Jack, stop being so ridiculous." He looked over at Maddie. "Surely and educated and wonderful woman like yourself can see it's me, Maddie?" Vlad was suddenly by her and holding her hands.

Maddie pulled her hands from his and grumbled. "It would explain some things."

Vlad rose a brow.

Sam kept feeling something tick at the back of her mind. She turned and looked at the doors before she looked at her friends. They nodded in understanding and were prepared to stay while she got a head start. She slipped through the front doors quietly and got inside the house.

"He has to be in the lab, wherever the lab is now."

She ran for the place Valerie had talked about and looked around for any sign that the other ghost hunter may have missed. She finally found a football behind a stack of books and pulled it. The door went up. "Even when you're trying to be sneaky you can't be." She then ran into the lab and skidded to a halt.

There he was.

He was hanging limply against the restraints on him and taking deep trembling breaths. Even though he was in his ghost form, for some reason he seemed unable to heal the few burns that were leaking from the tears on his suit. She spied the glowing green shackles and imagined those were keeping him from healing or using his powers more. She ran forward and started looking for a way to release him.

"Sa- Sam?"

His voice was broken and shaky; Sam realized he must've been screaming. She looked up and saw his baby-blue eyes glance back at her. They were clouded in pain. She could also feel an aura of warmth around him and knew his hot core was somehow active; he had to be burning up.

"Don't worry, Danny. I'm getting you out of here."

"My… hot… core…"

"Don't worry, I've got you."

They both suddenly heard other voices.

"It's the Ghost Boy!"

Tucker and Valerie came running over and Maddie and Jack bounded over as well. Maddie's face adopted a confused look at the sight of the ghost, obviously restrained. She growled and turned to look at Vlad.

"Who are you. How could Vlad Masters not know the Ghost Boy was down here!?" She aimed a ecto gun at him.

"Show yourself! Where's Vlad!?" Jack added.

Vlad glared at Danny and his friends before he transformed into Plasmius.

"It is I, the Wisconsin Ghost… Fear Me." Vlad spoke without much emotion, acting poorly on purpose. He was obviously irritated but had no other better out at the moment. "I do not stand a chance against such capable…" He paused when he saw Jack trying to untangle the Fenton Ghost Fisher. Vlad ground his teeth and continued. "-Such capable hunters. I'll shall now flee this Place known as Amity!" Vlad then shot through the roof of the mansion. He was no doubt going to claim, like he had with Valerie that Vlad Masters had been locked up at City Hall or something and Plasmius had simply taken on his appearance.

Once he was gone, everyone's attention turned to Danny or well, Phantom. Sam finally found the way to release her boyfriend and he almost crashed onto the floor. Sam was able to grab him in a hug to prevent him from falling all the way. The one thing however they weren't expecting was for Danny Phantom to suddenly transform in Danny Fenton.

There was silence.

_Oh no… He must have been beyond exhausted. What did Vlad do to him?_ Sam took one glance at the machine next to where he'd been hanging. A scowl crossed her face and she growled mentally. _Vlad…_ He was the least of their worries right now though.

"Sam, drop the ghost and step away slowly dear. We'll find out where Danny is, why he's taking on his form and then study him."

"Aw but Mads, what about molecule by molecule?"

Sam didn't listen of course and held Danny close to her; she felt him stir and could see some of his burns start to heal. He was still kinda out of it, when he leaned forward and rested his head in the crook of Sam's shoulder and neck.

"Thanks, Sam…"

"Don't talk to her like that, spook!"

Sam felt Danny tense immediately. Even in the state he was in, he knew his parents' voices. He was putting things together some. She knew he was going to panic. If his parents didn't believe him or didn't love him anymore… Sam, Tucker, Valerie, may go to jail or something for helping a specter, but Danny? He'd be a lab rat and he knew that. She could feel his heart rate increase and a few tremors of nerves run through him. Sam placed her hands softly on his back to try and calm him the best she could. He dared to glance up and into the angry and judgmental eyes of his parents.

_Why?_

He flinched hard at the memory with Hakan and learning to control his rage.

_The two greatest ghost hunters in the world and you can't even figure out that your own son is half-ghost!_

Dan's deep, rage fueled voice echoed through his mind. He swallowed and made a decision that he'd needed to for a almost three years now. He stood up slowly and backed away from Sam a bit.

"Mom? Dad?" He asked cautiously.

Everyone saw them falter. I mean, if he had been a manipulative ghost it was a good trick.

"Stop playing with our emotions, Ghost Boy!" Jack growled.

"Where's our son? Where's our boy!?" Maddie returned.

They started to march towards him with their weapons glowing and whirring with unleashed energy. Danny instinctually backed up with each step they took.

Danny gulped. "It's me… Danny Fenton, is Danny Phantom. It's just a name, Mom. It's like Spider-man or Batman… just a disguise."

"That's impossible. That would mean Danny's dead. Our son, isn't dead!" Maddie shouted.

Danny flinched. "Half dead, technically speaking."

They kept approaching and Danny kept moving back, until his back hit the cold wall of the lab. He could see his friends tense up worriedly from where they were standing and act as though they were going to try and stop his parents. Danny looked right into the googles of his mother's jumpsuit that covered her eyes and then into his father's blue eyes that looked hard at him. Their guns were pointed at his chest and his heartbeat was in his ears, so Danny closed his eyes and waited.

_This is it. They don't understand. Their going to waste me. My own parents are going to waste me…_

_Not a ghost, not a boy. Who could love a thing like you?_

At the same time, the Fentons were thinking their own thoughts.

Maddie was conflicted. She couldn't remember a time when she didn't want to shoot at a ghost. Her hesitancy had to be from how the ghost was trying to look like her son. The idea of not listening to your eyes and pulling the trigger, even on something that only looked like someone you loved was not easy. But it was something else too, something more. Mothers always seemed to know when something bad has happened to their child and while Maddie didn't usually believe in things that hadn't been scientifically proven, she couldn't deny what she was feeling right now. Her son, wherever he was, was hurt and scared. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. Maddie reminded herself that this ghost might know where her son was and that's what she fueled herself with as she prepared to fire at the blob of post-human subconsciousness. One final memory echoed through her mind though. _If he could mature, then did that mean he could feel emotions too?_ Could she harm something that could maybe feel to find out where her son was?

Jack Fenton was clumsy and sometimes a bit of a wishful thinker, but it was that wishful thinking that allowed him to think outside the box and be an inventor in the first place. He'd come up with all kinds of things; his beautiful wife would look over what he constructed and together they'd edit his work until it was complete. Not to say Maddie didn't invent her own things. Jack was having similar thoughts to Maddie's regarding having to pull the trigger on something that even resembled his son. It was… unsettling. He had to find his son though; Jack Fenton wasn't perfect, but he'd lock himself in the Fenton Stockades forever if he didn't protect his family and friends.

Maddie and Jack were about to pull the triggers on their guns…

When Sam pushed in between them and shielded as much of Danny's body as she could with her own.

"Don't shoot!" She exclaimed and gripped Danny tightly. Danny's eyes snapped open and he gasped lightly, not expecting something to touch him before he was blasted.

"Sweetie, you need to get out of the way. We need to find Danny!" Maddie exclaimed.

Sam remained as she was, wrapped around Danny like she was protecting a large Oak from being torn down by bulldozers.

"He already told you! Phantom is Fenton! It's always only been Danny!"

Jack frowned, seemingly more open to the idea of something so bizarre, but Maddie was still in denial.

"Sam, honey… The Ghost Boy must have some sort of hold on you."

Sam gritted her teeth, trying to think of something to say to convince them that they were about to shoot their own son, when…

"Just move away, Sam… I don't want you to get hurt in the cross-fire," Danny whispered.

Sam shivered a bit against her will since he'd practically whispered in her ear, but she could also feel him trembling… trembling with fear and despair.

"No, your stupid big heart won't get the glory this time," She practically snapped back in a whisper and then a light dawned in her eyes. "Your heart…" She glanced up into Danny's dulled blue eyes and then slowly turned to face the Fentons. "Jack, Maddie… Will you do one thing? I want you to understand that this _is_ Danny and I can prove it."

Jack perked up and glanced at his wife. After a few minutes, Maddie nodded. Jack frowned and slowly put down his weapon. He gave Maddie another look and she stayed where she was, weapon ready. Sam moved out of the way slightly but was still at Danny's side. Jack walked over slowly and watched Sam tense as if ready to attack him if he should hurt the Danny look-a-like. He kneeled slightly and looked Danny in the eyes.

"Danny-boy, is that really you?" Jack asked.

Danny nodded slowly. Sam reached out and carefully grabbed his Jack's hand. Jack flinched once as she started to pull his large hand towards Danny, but remained still as his hand came to Danny's chest.

-Thump- thump- Thump-thump- Thump-thump-

Jack could feel it. Something that no ghost could fake, a human heart. He glanced at Sam who glanced at Danny and nodded. Jack gasped when the white lights of the rings went over Danny and turned him into Phantom. The light felt warm when it passed over his hand and then he realized… it was still there.

-Thump- thump- Thump-thump- Thump-thump-

"My heart rate and body temperature are lower than most people, but I'm still okay… just different," Danny spoke up nervously.

"Jack?" Maddie asked from a distance. Jack looked up at Sam and Tucker and Valerie to see them nodding, confirming that this was really Danny.

Jack looked over at Maddie as he felt a few tears start to already form. "Mads… It's him. Danno's really Phantom."

Maddie faltered slightly and just stared at Jack. Finally after a moment of staring at Jack's unfaltering gaze, she dropped her weapon and walked swiftly to where they were. Jack smiled and placed his wife's hand on their son's chest to hear that same heartbeat.

"Sweetie?" Maddie asked as tears started to form and fall from her own eyes. Before he could reply, she lunged at him and grabbed him into a hug. "Oh baby, why didn't you tell us, how'd this happen, I don't understand, don't worry we'll fix things." She was surprised when Danny suddenly jerked back from her hug.

"I'll answer all your questions, but do not DO NOT try a fix me. I don't need fixing. Besides… trying to fix me… it doesn't turn out well. Trust me."

His parents looked at each other and Danny was surprised when they smiled calmly. "Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything like that…" Danny frowned in worry when his mother started to cry harder. "Oh my baby, we… we…"

Danny was shocked to even see a bit of a misty look in his father's eyes, before the man pulled him close into a hug. Maddie scooted over and the three Fentons shared a long hug while the others waited patiently. Eventually Danny's parents had calmed down enough and Maddie spoke.

"Danny is that why you got as white as a ghos- oops."

"Don't worry Mrs. F, those sorts of puns are hard to avoid," Tucker grinned, joining in the conversation and never failing to dissipate the seriousness of a moment.

"Oh shut it, Tuck," Danny barked but gave a smirk too.

"He's wanted…. dead or alive! Waaaanted, dead or aliiiiiiveeee!" Tucker wailed out and everyone clasped their hands over their ears. Valerie smacked him in the back of his head for good measure.

"Tucker! What did we agree to after the Ember incident!?" Sam growled.

"No more of Tucker's singing?" Tucker asked in third person.

"Right," Sam replied.

Danny smiled and looked back at his parents. "Let's go home… and I'll tell you everything."

zzz

So the group of six picked themselves up and headed to Fenton Works. It would take almost all the rest of the day and night to explain everything, so Sam, Tucker, and Valerie decided to spend the night at Danny's place. Sam and Valerie would get Jazz's room since she was gone and Tucker would sleep in Danny's room. Their parents all were okay with that except Sam had to have a shouting match with her mother and father explaining that she wouldn't leave Jazz's room after lights out and Danny wouldn't leave his either after lights out. Danny had been blushing the whole time and Tucker had been messing with him about it until Valerie had pushed hard on Tucker's head and strained the boy's neck. Danny had taken the hidden Cryodisc from his room an put it on himself to help cool down from Vlad's manipulation to his hot core. He explained briefly what it was to his parents and promised to explain fully soon.

After a somewhat awkward, but peaceful meal, everyone sat in the living room for the four teens to tell their fantastical tale. Danny began with well, the beginning of course.

"Mom, Dad? Do you remember when you thought the portal wasn't going to work?"

Both nodded.

"Me, Danny, and Tucker went to check it out. We were being stupid and I egged Danny into going into the portal and looking around." Sam explained.

"Being the klutz I am, I tripped a bit and put my hand on the wall to stabilize myself. I clicked a button of some kind and everything went white."

"We could just hear him screaming…" Sam murmured and looked away. "It was terrible."

"Yeah I thought my best friend was well, gone." Tucker added.

Maddie gasped and a hand came to her mouth. "Oh God… It… It…"

Danny frowned and looked down. "Yeah, it turned on with me in it. I remember feeling a lot of pain, but more specifically I remember… not wanting to die. It's a strange kind of feeling, different from what you'd expect. I felt everything slipping away, my sight, my touch, my smell, my taste, but right before my hearing went… I heard them."

Sam and Tucker perked up, not having heard Danny explain so much detail about his time in the portal, while Valerie listened closely, picking up any new info she'd not been told yet.

"Sam and Tuck's voices. They were screaming my name. I wanted to go to them, stay with them. I couldn't leave them, so I fought. It felt like something ignited in my chest and then I was free. I stubbled out of the portal. Sam tried to grab me but I fell through her. They were both looking at me weird and so I moved over to a mirror and I saw… My hair was white as snow, the hazmat suit's colors were inverted and my eyes were radioactive green. I heard you both storming down into the lab to see who screamed and that was when my rings formed and changed me back into Fenton."

"After that, we were simply trying to get Danny under the radar for a few weeks while we decided what to do. He was walking through things, things were falling through him, his pants were coming off when he was nervous." Tucker finished with an evil grin.

"Gee thanks Tuck."

"No problem, dude."

"So that's why you got banned from Chemistry lab at school!" Maddie exclaimed.

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah… I couldn't hold a test tube without it slipping through my hand. It was like trying harder and harder to hold butter."

Sam smiled and looked at both parents. "Eventually he got better though, and at some point-"

"It was after the Lunch Lady… I knew."

Sam smiled again. "Danny wanted to protect Amity from all the ghosts that were coming through the portal. Me and Tucker started to help."

So it went on like this for a while, The four friends explained everything, including how Valerie eventually had found out and started helping too as the Red Huntress and how Jazz had found out and helped them before that. The last few things they kept out were Vlad, Dani, and Dan… At the moment Danny was talking about all the ghosts in the ghost zone and how his ghostly abilities had grown.

"Frostbite was a great teacher, especially on such sort notice. He's been hinting at wanting to teach me to make ectoplasm constructs and then incase them in ice. It's supposed to make them stronger. Hakan is a bit… strict but I guess you need that for learning about fire. Clockwork's really kind, you know, being Father Time and all. I can show you all our files. Please do listen to me about which ghosts are good and bad though."

It had taken a bit to convince his parents that some full ghosts were good, but after giving them the info that good ghosts liked the Zone, Clockwork ruled over time, mentioning all the times ghosts had actually helped him and that ghosts all had humanity still inside them, since Clockwork had just taught them that, they started to listen to the idea. The Fenton parents were glowing really, watching their son talk on and on about what his life had been like for so long. Their Danny was back, the Danny that was warm and honest, the Danny that truly loved his parents, not that they thought he didn't love them anymore before, but the difference was obvious. They were so proud too.

Danny eventually got around to explain all the misunderstandings like he had with Valerie, Freakshow, Walker and the Mayor, blasting them, and everything else. They asked him over and over to forgive them and he only said that he had a long time ago and their willingness to still love him was more than enough.

After almost everything had been discussed, Vlad finally came up.

"Okay I know you're wondering about Vlad…" Danny started.

"He really is that ghost then, like you?" Maddie asked.

Danny nodded slowly. "His Ecto-Ache in College is what caused it. He blamed dad for it and still does. His hate helped form his obsession, but his obsession is really emotionally complex. He wants to kill dad, marry mom, and have me as his perfect half-ghost son. I don't really know what he plans to do with Jazz."

"Vladdie? Why…" Jack spoke out and looked into Danny's sorrowful eyes to find an answer that couldn't be given. Danny felt really bad for his dad. It would kill Danny for Tucker to become like Vlad is to Jack.

"I knew something was fishy about him as of late," Maddie grumbled.

Tucker deadpanned. "An experience?"

"You don't even know." Danny and Maddie spoke at the same time and smiled at each other. Maddie gasped.

"Oh Danny! I put the Spector Deflector on you! I could've hurt you terribly!"

"It's okay mom, really."

Suddenly a darker look came over Maddie's face and she looked at Danny. She placed a hand on Danny cheek and rubbed it. "Vlad… He… He was hurting you down there…"

Jack flinched at the thought when he realized his wife was right. When they'd come down into the lab area, Phantom… or well… Danny, had been looking pretty rough.

Danny glanced away. "Just... you know… Fruit-loopiness. He, like I said wants me as his son, just like he wants you as his wife. He's not subtle with you, but he's gentle, me? He kinda gets mad at me for not obeying good ol' dad."

Jack's frown turned into a scowl after hearing that.

"But I'm fine now… if a little hot. He kinda messed with my hot core. That what this disc is here. Clockwork gave it to me if I should get too hot."

Jack finally spoke up, wanting to change the subject from his college frien- ex-friend's actions, "Can you ever forgive us for hunting you, Danny-boy?" Jack asked and put a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Like I said, already had." He paused for a moment, considering mentioning Dani and Dan… but decided against it for now. They needed time. They saw him with an open mouth so he switched to something else. "Don't let Vlad know you know about me or him. At least do the best you can. Try to act normal around him at all costs. As soon as he finds out you two know and mom doesn't approve, he'll majorly flip out."

"Man I can kinda already picture that," Tucker winced. "That won't be pretty."

"He'll probably beat up on me a bunch for it. Blame me for it, even though _he_ kidnapped _me_ in front of them in the first place!" Danny spoke and threw his hands up.

"Not on my watch!" Jack suddenly bellowed and took on a oddly dangerous look. "He might have been my friend, but no ex-friend of mine will hurt anyone in my family!"

"Thanks dad, but you both have to lay low. When his illusion of power and control is threatened he looses touch sometimes."

"You've been listening to Jazz again, haven't you?" Sam asked.

Danny sighed, "Not like I have much choice."

Maddie smiled and brought Danny in for another tight hug. "We're so proud of you, Danny."

Danny let a smile come to his face and he hugged her back. "Thanks Mom."

"Hey Son! How about after school you can show me and your mother your abilities." Jack bounced excitedly on the couch making Tucker and Valerie bounce against their wills.

Danny nodded nervously. "Yeah, sure."

Maddie stood up and took a deep relaxing breath. "Okay then, how about you all go upstairs and get ready for bed? It's been a long day and it's getting late."

"The day might not be over if a ghost pops up," Danny grumbled.

Jack perked up.

Maddie frowned, "Is that why you've been so tired all the time?"

Danny laughed a bit. "Yeah pretty much."

Maddie nodded sadly. "Try your best to get some sleep though, sweetie, and tell us if a ghost comes around."

"You'll probably have to explain yourself at times if you guys are wanting to help me or something."

"You could be my sidekick, Danno!" Jack shouted.

Tucker stood up. "Oh no. No, no, no. I will not be the sidekick of the sidekick!"

Danny turned to Tucker. "Aw Tuck, no one's a sidekick here. _Team_ Phantom, remember?"

Maddie laughed a bit and shooed the kids to their rooms. She turned and looked at Jack after the teens had tromped up the stairs.

"I can't believe it."

"Neither can I." Jack leaned back against the soft cushions and swiped a piece of fudge from the coffee table.

Maddie rubbed her arms. "How could we not have seen this. I mean looking back everything makes sense now. His behavior, his grades, the machines going off around him…"

"The Ghost Gabber!" Jack shouted and face palmed. "Of course!"

Maddie smiled and shook her head before setting against Jack on the couch and leaning into him. "Well it's not everyday that you find out your son's a hero and your college friend is a manipulative creep or well an _evil_ manipulative creep."

Jack frowned. "Yeah… I just had no idea Vladdie was so mad. Mads… was his accident my fault? Did I cause all this? Without me making that mini-portal work in college before, Vlad and Danny might have been fine and ghosts wouldn't have been coming through."

Maddie laced her hand into Jack's much larger one. "No dear. If it is your fault then it's as much mine too, but we'll get through this together as one big family."

Jack nodded and placed his other hand on top of his wife's hand

zzz

The four friends were now sitting in the hallway together between Danny and Jazz's rooms in their night clothes. Danny was near the middle with Sam on his left and Tucker on his right and Valerie was on the other side of Tucker.

"Well that went pretty well," Valerie spoke up.

"Well considering I'm not strapped to a lab table being torn apart molecule by molecule or dissected… yeah I think it went well." Danny shrugged and gave a relaxed sigh.

Sam nodded calmly. "I knew they would understand. I mean… After the Reality Gauntlet I was sure."

"Reality Gauntlet?" Valerie questioned. Tucker smiled at her as a sign he'd tell her later.

"Though this time was a bit different and they took a bit more convincing." Danny added.

After a moment of quiet, Danny spoke again, asking a question of his own. "Hey Sam? How'd you know to come back to Vlad's?"

Sam, Tucker and Valerie looked up at him.

"Dude, you could see us?" Tucker asked.

Danny frowned angrily. "Oh yeah I could. Vlad was having a grand time of it, since no matter how loud I could yell it wouldn't get through the walls of that lab."

"That creep," Valerie hissed and clenched her fists. She still had a bone or two to pick with the billionaire and learning about his meetings with Danny, past and present, only fueled her more.

"Well I… I heard you?" Sam spoke kinda more like a question than an answer.

"Uh what do you mean?" Tucker asked and leaned forward.

"I don't know… I just heard him, like in my mind or something. He was yelling for us."

Danny was looking at her closely before he spoke. "You know… I felt the last words I yelled were different, like they were mental rather than verbal."

Tucker whipped out his PDA and started to look for something relevant no doubt.

"You think you used telepathy on me?" Sam asked.

Danny shrugged.

"The supposed communication of thoughts or ideas by means other than the known senses." Tucker suddenly interrupted. He continued. "In this case would be thought transference." He looked up from his device and spoke again, "I would say there's fairly good chance of Danny having used something like that when in trouble. I mean other ghosts use things similar to psychic power, like Technus and uh… _him_. You know? Maybe you can use it with Sam since you two always seem to know what the other is going to say. I wonder if I'm included with that… I mean I suppose so long as Danny knows the other person enough… and vice versa the connection should work." He crawled across the floor on his hands and knees and ended up in front of Danny. "Here, let's try it now. Speak to me."

Danny gulped slightly and then closed his eyes.

_Tucker? You there?_

_Danny? Is that you?_

_Sam?_

_Whoa, dudes… this is weird._

_So we're all welcome? I think we need to help Danny figure out how to be more specific._ Sam replied to both Danny and Tucker.

_Gu- -ello? -Ou -ere?_

_I think Valerie's trying to answer, but…_

_We're still getting used to each other._ Tucker replied.

Danny then halted the connection.

"Did you guys hear me?" Valerie asked.

Tucker smiled at her. "Kinda, it was a little broken. So we need to work on connecting with you and having Danny make messages sent to only one person at a time instead of everyone around him that knows him well enough."

"When I was in Vlad's lab. I focused on Sam because she was easiest to see on his cameras… Maybe I just need to focus harder." Danny offered.

"Could be," Sam replied and placed a hand on Danny's.

"This could mean you could even develop this power further, like who knows how else your psychic inclination will progress? Maybe you could even start to control things with you mind or-"

"Tucker, Danny's technically a superhero, but I think you're diving into powers more suited for comic books," Valerie spoke.

"Hey! You don't know what could happen," Tucker argued slightly if only to defend his idea.

Everyone pretty much shrugged at that and grew quiet.

Well I think I'm going to hit the hay," Valerie spoke up and stood after a moment.

"Yeah sounds good to me, let's go dude," Tucker added.

Danny and Sam nodded and got up as well. The four friends split up and went to their two rooms for the night.

One thought on Danny's mind though as he walked behind Tucker to enter his room, was the idea that he was developing some familiar powers… and it scared him. Who else did he know that could use fire and some form of psychic power?

_I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me._

Everything inside him from his promise to his friends and family, to the logics of the Time stream with Dan being technically outside of it as Clockwork had said, told him to ignore that haunting quote and yet he knew he couldn't.

zzz

**A week later. Before School.**

Danny and Sam were walking towards Casper High together, hand in hand. Tucker had opted to wait for Valerie since she'd woken up a bit late. So it was only the young couple early that morning. Sam was wearing the necklace Danny had made for her. Since a week prior, when Danny's parents had learned of his secret, they were learning more and more about their son's world and for a change, Danny was happy to teach them everything he'd learned about ghosts and the Zone. They'd even helped once or twice with a ghost so far and when Jessica, the Ghost Boy's reporter, had asked them about it, they'd explained that they were starting to see that the Ghost Boy was defending the city at the time being but they would be ready should be fall out of line. Jack had winked at his son later when the family had seen that part of the news on TV.

Sam moved closer to Danny after shifting her black coat. It was getting even colder now that November was getting closer to being over. She smiled up at her boyfriend and he gave her a broad smile in return. She could see the relaxation in his eyes now. Even just having his parents know about everything was a giant weight off his shoulders. She glanced at her necklace.

"This is really beautiful, Danny. Have you ever thought about making sculptures, you know with your ecto-ice?"

Danny cocked his head to the side in thought. "I don't know. I suppose. Hey! Maybe it would be a good way to practice making weapons. If I can make detailed forms like a sculpture then I can make weapons, right?"

Sam nodded. "I think that's a great idea."

The two continued their walk to school. The day went on without much incident until Lunch when Technus raided the computer lab.

Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie were sitting in their spot in the cafeteria, when everyone eating heard a scream from somewhere in the building. Danny sighed and got up. "I bet it's Technus."

Sure enough next they heard, "It is I Technus, Master of all-"

Danny chuckled and darted out of the cafeteria. Valerie, Tucker, and Sam got up afterwards and left as well. When they got to the computer lab, a bunch of students were already watching behind doors and corners as Danny fought with Technus. The students grimaced when he was slung into a large desk by the electrical cords Technus had commandeered. Danny got up and smiled.

"Well I've got to say, you're doing a much better with avoiding the long-winded speech. You didn't announce your plan in excruciating detail this time."

Technus paused and his eyebrows shot up. He smiled back excitedly. "Really!?"

Phantom chuckled. "Now if you can just avoid introducing yourself, you'll be golden."

Technus grinned in what many would consider a malicious way. "I am adapting! My mainframe is becoming even more complex!"

Phantom smirked. "You're doing it again…"

Technus sucked in his bottom lip and aimed a hand at Phantom, firing electricity from the computer behind him, towards the teen hero. Phantom threw up a shield that was concave in shape. The electricity was redirected back at the ghost and he yelped as he was electrocuted. Phantom pulled out his thermos and sucked Technus up while the specter was distracted.

The students cheered and Phantom was about to fly off when a voice rose above the others.

"Invisobil! Invisobil!"

Danny sighed and looked over his shoulder to see Paulina pushing through the crowd and even knocking over Mikey in the process. Star held back a bit and was watching with a tiny frown.

Danny floated down close to ground. "What is it, Pauli-" He was halted dead in his tracks when the hispanic girl leapt up slightly, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down a bit from his hovering, and slammed her lips onto his. A cacophony of cat calls and wolf whistles rose from the crowd, just as Danny turned invisible and intangible. He reappeared to the left of the girl with a frown on his face.

"Please don't do that."

Everyone paused and Paulina's mouth fell open. "What do you mean?"

"I mean don't do that, please. Did you ever consider that I had someone when I was alive? Whenever I find peace, I want to see her again." Danny had to make it sound like he was Phantom after all, not still living.

Paulina looked confused. "You mean, there's someone else? All this time?"

Danny nodded his head solemnly. "Sorry Paulina, but no. Someone else warms my ghost core. Someone I've waited a long time for. Sometimes you need to think about other people's feelings before making assumptions. Paulina, you'll never find satisfaction or lasting happiness this way. Try to make friendships that matter and last."

Her eyes widened slightly at the familiar words, though no connection other than Fenton had been right about what Phantom would feel, registered in her thoughts.

Danny turned and pulled Mikey up from the ground between two jocks who hadn't bothered to move away for the boy to raise himself from the ground in the crowd. The teen gaped since the town hero was aiding him.

"You alright? You kinda took a hard fall there."

"Ye-yeah, just fuh-fine." Mikey glanced down and saw a tear in Phantom's suit that was stained a bit green. "Are you okay, ?"

Danny glanced down at the tear and looked back up with a smile. "I'll be fine in a little bit. I heal fast." He let go and floated a bit higher. "Stay in school everyone and remember to not crowd a ghost. These fights aren't always so basic." Danny then waved at everyone and flew through the ceiling.

The rest of the day passed calmly after Sam had her chance to gripe about Paulina's kiss she gave 'Phantom'. She was hopeful that Paulina would get it through her thick head that Fenton and Phantom were both off limits, even if she didn't know they were one and the same.

Around seven thirty, Team Phantom plus the Fentons patrolled Amity for ghosts and only found the Box Ghost messing around in a abandoned cardboard box factory. Seeing as he wasn't doing any harm, they left him alone and went to their respective homes for some good sleep.

**zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**

**Well how'd you think about my reveal to his parents?**

**I wanted it to be a bit more tension filled than their talk with him at the end of Reality Trip, for two reasons. First because I think they'd question what they were seeing a bit more than they did then, though in Reality Trip they did have a few days(I'd guess) to think about Fenton being Phantom, with Jazz in Freakshow's cage with them. Second, there needed to be something to kinda justify Danny's fear a bit more. After all, like he said earlier in the story, all it could take is for his parents to find out in the wrong way.**

**zzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**Great: PS Im not sure if you are uncomfortable with this question, since it has nothing to do with the story, but could you tell me what country are you from? I understand if its uncomfortable or you cant answer.**

**NoSignal: I'd rather not say. Thanks for understanding though :)**

**zzzz**

**Thanks for all your support everyone! Your reviews were wonderful.**

**~NoSignal**


	9. TheEidolon

**Let's get to it already!**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

_"Hide not your talents, they for use were made, What's a sundial in the shade?" ~ Benjamin Franklin_

zzz

**A few days later. Saturday.**

The day found Danny and Sam, walking side by side heading towards the Mall. Tucker and Valerie had been busy with other things, but it hadn't mattered too much since the couple had a specific goal in mind or at least one of them did.

"I don't know about this Sam…" Danny nervously and shoved his hands into his green sweatshirt's single large front pocket, with a tiny scowl on his face.

"What? Your house is going to get overpacked with these things if you keep it up at this rate. They're too beautiful to just get rid of. Plus, what's the harm in a bit of extra cash? It's good for a college fund later," Sam argued back, shifting the paper sack she had hanging over one arm. She had on her black coat again and some black jeans due to the cool weather.

"Beautiful? I don't know about that," Danny mumbled with embarrassment before taking a quick glance at the mysterious bag.

"Danny, they're artisan quality, trust me on this. After seeing all the things my mother's bought, I know. Have you decided on a pen name?"

Danny gulped. "Why do I need a pen name again?"

"It's common for people to do that. It's especially helpful since people may wonder how you made them and that could get iffy real fast. If they don't know who you are, they won't be able to pester you. I'll deliver them and people won't have any clue who it could be since my parents do have tons of connections."

"Uh right… How about… TheEidolon? I think that's another name for a ghost."

"Huh, I like it. TheEidolon it is."

The couple found the Art Gallery that was near the back of the Mall. Danny hung behind and wandered off towards the Arcade to busy himself while Sam dealt with everything.

zzz

Sam walked carefully, with the sculptures Danny had created in her bag tickling softly. She finally found someone to talk to about selling them to the gallery.

"Oh so you wanted to sell your sculptures?" A young woman spoke as she led Sam off the gallery floor and towards a back room where the artist in charge, worked.

"Oh they aren't mine. They were made by a friend and he wants to keep his identity a secret."

"Ohhhh I see. Well maybe Mr. Fundoo will approve." She pushed up a curtain to the very back, only for a can of brushes to be thrown at them. Sam ducked instinctually from all the ghost fights she'd been in, but the young woman wasn't as lucky and got paint water splashed on her.

"Bah! You two interrupted me at the most inopportune time! I was _this_ close," he pinched his fingers together to emphasis his point, "_This_ close to finding inspiration for my latest work!"

Mr. Fundoo, as he was called, was a lanky man with grey hair under a beret, a green polo, and short khakis. He sighed after pinching the bridge of his nose and motioned Sam over. "Come, come. What is it you wanted, girl?"

Sam bit back a snide remark and evened her tone. "I have some sculptures that my friend made. He wanted to see how much he could get for them. I was thinking a seventy thirty split would be fair, due to their quality."

Mr. Fundoo scoffed. "Seventy thirty she says. How about forty sixty? I'm sure they're lovely…" He drawled in a sarcastic manner.

Sam growled and pulled one of the sculptures out and slammed in on the table, being made of ecto-ice, they weren't brittle like crystal or glass and didn't melt like normal ice.

Mr. Fundoo and the young woman, froze. The particular one that Sam had put on the table was a sculpture of Wulf. His person was done in smooth and perfect detail, down to the tiny toothpick sized claws coming from his paws. He had a large toothy smile on his face that made him look much more friendly than what many would see the ghostly beast as. Sam then much less aggressively placed the rest of her cargo on the table. There was one of two Ectopusses, one blue and one green, swirling around each other, their colors dictated not by color but by how clear the ice was which comprised them, one was of Skulker, another of Ember, the Dairy King Ghost, the Box Ghost, Dora, and Youngblood in a Cowboy outfit.

"No they aren't made out of ice, crystal, glass, or any precious gem. I will not disclose what they are made of, though it is not any kind of dangerous substance. I witnessed my friend work on one of these and it is a decently long process. Now about that seventy thirty deal…"

Mr. Fundoo rubbed his chin thoughtfully, though it was obvious that he liked what he saw. Everyone in Amity or anyone who came to Amity had some kind of interest in ghosts and working with that market was a good business move. Pieces like this, especially of some of the ghosts that came to this town would be great.

"I'm assuming your mystery friend wants to put himself out in the form of a pename?"

"Yes, TheEidolon."

Mr. Fundoo smiled. "I like the creativity of your friend's mind. TheEidolon it is. I accept your offer. Where would you like the money to be sent?"

Sam pulled a card out from her clutch she'd brought with her and slid it across the table. "To the account attached to this debit card. It should be under the name of Sam Manson."

Mr. Fundoo turned and nodded to the young woman who took the card and walked off to settle the financial matters.

Mr. Fundoo grabbed her attention. "So about pricing-"

Sam nodded. "It is an interesting situation. I'm thinking due to what it's made out of, we can consider it not any more expensive than paper. So the price would mostly be labor. The Ectopuses are the simplest and they took about two and a half hours to complete. I'd say a hundred dollars for it as a standard price. If people are wanting to get more than one he can practically make identical pieces and even commissions if they want it to look a certain way."

"A hundred hm? at a seventy thirty? I suppose. And the others?"

"Well here's what I think-" Sam began.

zzz

"Wait, I'll get seventy dollars for the Ectopus one?"

"Yep."

"And the Wulf one?"

"Around three hundred fifty is your share."

"Wow. That's amazing."

"There's only one thing."

"What?"

Sam grimaced at his question as Danny finished his game at the arcade machine. He frowned when the Game Over screen flashed in his face. He turned away and started walking with Sam.

"Mr. Fundoo wants to commission you to make a Danny Phantom figurine for him. He'll pay full price for a Danny Phantom. He wants to display it with the others that are for sale as a draw."

"Wow, that's awkward, but I guess I'll do it."

"I'll deliver it when it's done and periodically funnel the profit into your account."

"It's sounds like we're part of some kind of fonzy scheme."

"Danny, it's ponzi scheme."

"Oh, oops." Danny smiled sheepishly, making Sam smile back at him.

The couple continued walking and left the front of the mall, when a breath of blue air came from Danny's mouth.

"Whelp, that figurine will have to wait."

As soon as he'd said that and before Sam could reply, a watch he was wearing buzzed. It was a communicator that his mother had created for everyone in Team Phantom. She'd given Jack and Danny theirs for Thanksgiving to make up for the Turkey having attacked the family mid-meal. The day after, Danny had delivered the same devices to Sam, Tucker, and Valerie. He clicked a button and his mother's voice came through.

"Dear, just in case you didn't know, there's a ghost… Johnny 30?"

"No mom, Johnny 13. Dang, not again, Johnny. I'll be there in a flash mom, don't shoot yet."

Danny laughed a bit when he heard his dad whine at being denied the chance to fire. He rolled his eyes at Sam. "Johnny probably made Kitty mad again and is looking for me. He likes making things difficult for me when Kitty's mad."

"At least drop me at home and see you tomorrow? Tucker and Valerie wanted to have a movie night at my house."

"It's a promise."

Danny smirked and jumped into an alleyway before transforming. He picked Sam up bridal style and turned them both invisible before flying off. After placing her at her doorstep, he assured her that Johnny didn't require her, Tuck's, Valerie's, or technically even his parent's help. He then said goodbye and flew off.

He gained a bit of notice when flying over the city now visibly and waved a couple times at the younger children who shouted his name. In no time, he was at the park.

"I don't know who you oldies think you are, but you ain't going to stop me."

Danny came from the trees to see his parents aiming at Johnny, who was on his bike.

"You stay right there until Phantom comes, you understand?" Maddie declared.

"What's with you two being buddy buddy with Phantom all of a sudden?" Johnny grumbled and happened to look over and spot Danny. "Speak of the devil."

"Johnny, did ya make Kitty mad again?"

"Shove it!"

"Johnny… What happened this time?"

"I'm not saying!"

"Fine then I'm going to go ask Kitty her side of the story." Danny then started to float away when Johnny bit his lip.

"Wait! Don't go to Kitty, she won't tell the story right."

Danny smirked and turned back around before flying over closer to Johnny as Maddie and Jack started to lower their weapons. Both parents watched quietly and with intrigue as their son interacted with the ghost.

"So what happened?"

Johnny sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It was stupid. She asked me if she looked good in the outfit she was trying out and I was busy watching the TV and I said she looked the same no matter what she wore. She got angry and started yelling at me. It snowballed from there and here I am blowing off steam."

"Uh well, definitely not the best thing to say to your girlfriend." Danny chuckled.

"I don't follow."

"Honey-" Both Johnny and Danny looked over to see Maddie approaching. "You never tell a lady that she looks the same no matter what she wears. Especially if she was trying to surprise you and make you happy. She wants to look good for you."

Johnny gulped and scratched his scalp. "Uh, didn't think of it that way."

"Go tell her your sorry and that you were distracted. Tell her she looks beautiful and mean it," Danny instructed.

Johnny nodded and looked away dreamily. "She is beautiful. She's been beautiful since the day we both bit the dust and even before."

"Tell her that!" Danny exclaimed.

Johnny grumbled and punched Danny in the shoulder playfully. "Shut up, jerk. Since when did you become a romance professional, clueless?"

Danny flushed in embarrassment before he smirked. "Get your ghostly butt in gear."

"Fine fine." Johnny kicked the kickstand out from under his bike and acted as though he was going to motor off. He paused and looked back at Danny and Maddie and Jack. "Oh and congrats on getting your old man and lady to not rip you apart… what was it? molecule by molecule? I didn't ace Chemistry as you might have guessed."

Danny laughed nervously. "Uh yeah, that's a plus, how'd you-"

"Kid, no body switches sides unless new info is provided. I'm guessing Plasmius goofed up? He's prideful to a fault."

"Yep."

"Righteous, serves that jerk right. Always rilling things up."

"Later Johnny, try to stay out of trouble."

"Tch, right like that's going to happen." Johnny smirked and then revved his bike and took off back towards Fenton Works and the portal.

"So is he a good ghost or a bad ghost?" Jack asked and scratched his head.

Danny smiled and turned to face his parents. "Well… he's… a work in progress?"

Maddie smiled. "I see. I understand Danny."

Danny smiled and looked around. Seeing no one, he transformed back into Fenton.

"I'm still trying to memorize all those files you have on ghosts, Danno."

Maddie nodded and frowned slightly as Danny and his father started walking to the Fenton RV to get back home. She'd seen the number of files he had and knew they'd received two less than the total number of folders in his list. She wondered why he hadn't given them those two as well to her and Jack but hoped Danny would eventually be comfortable enough to share without prompting. After all, what greater secret could he be hiding than his and Vlad's other halves?

"Hey Mads! Did ya hear that? Danny's sculptures are at the Art Gallery!"

Maddie snapped up from her thoughts and smiled when she registered what her husband had said. She looked at Danny and beamed. "Oh Danny! That's wonderful! I knew my babies were special!"

"Mom!"

"What? It's true!"

The Fenton family headed home and chatted happily about various things as they went.

zzz

**Casper High two days later.**

"You guys do remember what's coming up soon, right?"

"Yes Tucker, your birthday. The seventh of December." Danny replied in slight irritation, since Tucker had reminded them multiple times that morning. Sam was about to add something to Danny's response when Valerie spoke.

"Uh, guys?" Valerie asked and brought Tucker, Sam, and Danny from their talk.

"Oh uh, whoa." Danny gulped.

The four friends stood in the center of the hallway as people were walking everywhere with t-shirts on that were similar. They were black tees with a blue ghostly flame underlining a word, or name more precisely, that said, "TheEidolon." They overheard Paulina talking to Dash.

"My Papa purchased one of every piece he's made so far."

"Ah man, I've only got a Walker cause he looks like a outlaw." Dash grinned. "Do you stare at the Danny Phantom one?"

Paulina growled. "Shut up Dash. Phantom won't be hearing from me any time soon. He'll find out how lonely it can be without me and come crawling, you'll see."

Sam deadpanned and Danny face-palmed.

"Well your budding business is going well," Tucker whistled softly. "I wonder who started selling the tees?"

"Who knows, could be any graphic artist in the area that's a fan." Valerie shrugged.

"Come on, now I have two personas I have to keep under wraps?" Danny groaned.

"Hey Fentonia!"

"Darn it."

Dash marched over and glared at Danny. Danny wasn't as tall as Dash but he no longer had to look up to see eye to eye though.

"What is it, Dash?"

"What piece of TheEidolon's do you own?"

Danny frowned and then shrugged. "My parents let me get a Phantom one since they're thinking he's the only ghost that acts good. They're still suspicious, but they weren't mad about it."

"How the heck did you get a Phantom? TheEidolon only does them through commission."

"Uh, I had a commission done through Mr. Fundoo? Duh. My parents are pretty successful inventors, we choose to live in Fenton Works instead of anywhere else. I can afford a gift like that for myself."

Dash growled. "You watch your back, Fenton. I've still got revenge in the works and no nerd's going to get in the way this time."

"I wasn't expecting anything else from you Dash," Danny grunted and folded his arms. Sam grabbed his arm and started to pull him away.

"Go play with a nasty pigskin, Dash." Sam growled out. "Let's get to class, Danny." Danny nodded and the four friends turned to walk off.

As they neared English class, Brandon ran up to Danny from a group of nerds he'd been talking to.

"Hey, Danny!"

Danny smiled and turned to look at him. "What's up, Brandon?"

Paulina and Dash had finished getting their own things from their locker and noticed that Brandon's little group had merged into Danny's and were walking towards English.

"Who does that twerp think he is?" Paulina hissed.

"Thinks he's some big hot shot because he got lucky a couple times," Dash grumbled.

Back with Danny and the others, Brandon had finished explaining that the Danny Phantom game had received a DLC recently that granted Phantom his new fire powers.

"Huh, at least they're on top of it," Tucker replied.

The group walked into class and settled in their seats. Lancer started class not too long after and placed a sculpture of Dora and Aragon facing each other in both human and dragon forms. It was one of the more complicated pieces Danny had done and most likely the school had purchased it as a teaching aid of some kind since Lancer had it on his desk as if he was going to talk about it.

"Students, today we're going to work on our poetry. You may use any kind of poetry type and I want you to write about anything that this piece of TheEidolon's evokes in you. It's a piece that depicts the ghosts Dora and Aragon. All we know about them is that they have the ability to turn into dragons and are often at odds."

Soon, the room was filled with quiet, as pencils scratched out the poems. Eventually everyone stopped writing after they'd finished what they wanted to write. Mr. Lancer skimmed through them all until a certain one caught his eye.

"The darkness is here. The fight of progress rages. The darkness is gone." Mr. Lancer looked up and eyed Sam, "Mrs. Manson, this is your Haiku correct?"

"Uh, yes sir."

"Would you care to explain it more?"

"Oh uh," Sam's eyes flicked over at Danny before she continued. "Dora and Aragon are constantly fighting over whether their kingdom should remain in the dark ages or not. Dora is for change and progress and Aragon is for keeping things in a stand still. That's what the Haiku represents."

"How do you know all of that, goth geek?" Dash blurted from behind.

Sam glared at him over her shoulder. "Truth is, I was the one Aragon stole away for a bride. Phantom took me home."

Paulina frowned but then smirked happily. "That makes sense, only a dragon or an idiot could take you as a bride." She gave a pointed look to Danny who glared back with a dangerous look in his eyes. He turned away abruptly and grabbed Sam's hand to keep her from leaping at the A-lister.

Lancer coughed into his hand. "Regardless, now with this understanding, it's a lovely Haiku Mrs. Manson."

"Thank you Mr. Lancer."

The class went on normally with Lancer reading a few more from the batch of poems.

zzz

The couple had separated from Tucker and Valerie after school, when the techie and huntress had decided they wanted to go to the Mall together. Danny had asked why even though the two had been blushing and Sam had elbowed him to silence the still clueless Danny. She could tell the two were trying to bond more before they took the step of officially becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.

So the two had stopped by the Art Gallery, which was over run with people trying to get more sculptures of TheEidolon's. It didn't help that Christmas was on everyone's minds. Sam said she was going to see what Mr. Fundoo might need from Danny and ran into the back door. Danny waited around nearby. Eventually Sam came back through the door and sighed.

"He needs like three Phantoms, two Skulker, a Technus, and a Ember."

"Huh, I'm going to be busy."

"At least all of them are Christmas gifts from parents to their kids."

"Yeah."

"I know Christmas isn't your favorite."

"Nah, nah. I'm better about it now, but I need to see what I can do for Tucker's present."

"Oh yeah. I need to be thinking about that too."

A bit of silence fell over the pair as they neared Sam's home.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Do you… do you think I'd be a good bride?"

Danny paused and looked over at her with a bit of irritation. "Don't listen to Paulina. She's just mad that I didn't-" Danny swallowed. "Well you know. Anyways, what she's saying is stupid."

"I know. I just need to hear your opinion on it."

Danny nodded and let a smile come to his face. "I mean, I said it before didn't I?" You're smart, you're fun, you're cool, and you're… beautiful." Danny's cheeks heated up right after he'd spoke. "So yeah, don't listen to Paulina. She's just-" He stopped speaking when Sam kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks Danny and for the record, you're right, Paulina's just jealous. You're not an idiot. You can be clueless sometimes and dorky, but you are not an idiot." Sam hooked her arm through Danny's and smiled up at him. He smiled right back.

Danny dropped Sam off at her home before walking to his own. As soon as he shut the door to his house, his mother's voice called out.

"Is that you, Danny?"

"Yeah mom."

Danny smiled and walked into the den and tossed his bag on the floor and stretched out on the couch. His mother came in from the kitchen.

"Have some more sculptures you need to make for Mr. Fundoo?"

"Yeah. I'm glad there haven't been many ghosts recently. You and dad have been a great help with some of them. Then again a good deal of them kinda became afraid of me and don't like to pop up unless they've really got a good plan or think they have a good plan."

"Well sweetie, I'm just so happy we can finally help you." She walked over and sat beside him. "Can I watch you work on one?"

Danny looked over at his mom and smiled. "Yeah sure." He sat up next to her and held out his hands. A ball of ice formed there once he'd activated his cold core. He then started moving his hands slowly, molding the ice into the shapes he needed. After several minutes, he had a basic shape of himself in Phantom form. His ghost tail was curled around a base and his arms were at his sides as he was smiling up at what would be the sky if there was one. The face wasn't complete and neither was the details of his hazmat suit.

"It's lovely Danny, even without being complete."

"Thanks mom," Danny replied and continued shaping it slower than before since details took more focus.

"Jazz will be coming home for the holidays next week."

"That's good."

"You've been missing her?" Maddie smiled.

Danny smirked. "A little and she'll freak when she finds out you both know everything now."

The family had decided in the beginning to wait for Jazz to come home to tell her. Not only had the other Fenton been too busy with her independent studies that she'd been unable to attend Thanksgiving with the family, but they also didn't want to risk any emails or letters being read legally or illegally by someone else with that kind of info in it.

"How long has she known again?"

"Since the first time Spectra showed up." Maddie noticed a little frown come to her son's face at the mention of the ghost.

"You always seem to get somber when you talk about Spectra."

"She's brutally… uh honest? She likes preying on every person's insecurities."

"Oh." Maddie sat quietly with her son again, who'd put another calm smile on his face as he worked with the sculpture. He'd been able to make weapons of ecto-ice now and was getting better at forming the weapons quicker and quicker. Working on the sculptures had certainly helped. Maddie took a breath and spoke, taking a chance. "Danny?"

"Yeah mom?"

"What is in those two other files you haven't given me and your father?"

Danny froze in the middle of working on his sculpture. He placed the piece on the table and sighed. "I… Let me tell you and dad together okay? They're both really important, so listen to me carefully when I talk then, okay?"

"Of course, sweetie." Maddie nodded sympathetically and got up. "You want a snack?"

"So long as it doesn't bite back."

zzz

"So I guess the first thing I should tell you about is Danielle. You remember Vlad's idea that he wanted me to renounce dad and become his son instead?"

Jack grumbled something under his breath and Maddie rested a hand on the large man's arm.

"Yes we do Danny," Maddie replied.

Danny sighed. "Well Vlad… He tried to clone me."

…

"HE DID WHAT!?"

Danny grimaced and nodded. "Yeah. He'd decided that if I wouldn't listen to his fruit-loopiness, then a clone of me would and the clone would replace me. Thing is, there was only one that stayed together."

"What do you mean stayed together, Danno?"

"I mean literarily not melt into ectoplasm. He needed me one last time for mid-morph DNA. He was trying to force me to transform into Phantom and I was fighting it the whole way. Long story short Danielle, a girl clone of me, saw him as her father figure and thought he was trying to save her, but he wasn't. He was using her to make the perfect _son_. She wasn't mindless like the others though and I didn't want to hurt her. Eventually I convinced her of Vlad's true intentions and she's become her own person. She likes being called Dani with an I. She's stubborn and street smart, but I still worry about her since she's technically only a few years old. She's like fifteen in appearance now though."

"So we technically have another daughter," Maddie whispered.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, she's the only thing that Vlad ever did right in my opinion."

Jack grunted and stood. "Well we need to find her! Us Fentons stay together!"

Danny stood and waved his hands. "Wait dad, I don't even know where she is and I don't even know if she wants a family or not. She seems keen on doing her own thing… no matter how much I worry about her."

Maddie smiled at her son who'd glanced at the floor after speaking. "You almost act fatherly towards her, Danny."

Danny looked up with slight surprise. "I uh, huh, wha?"

Maddie laughed and walked over closer to sit by and hug her son. "How about we ask her what she wants when we see her again? Maybe she was simply worrying about revealing your secret. It was her way of repaying you for helping her so often."

Danny nodded as Jack sat back down.

"And that last file?" Maddie asked. She frowned when she saw her son's face darken considerably.

"Danny-boy? What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"I'm… I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about that one. He's… I just don't know how to explain it. Above all, compared to you finding out about me being half-ghost… this is…"

Maddie hugged her son from the side. "Don't worry Danny. We get it now, we understand. Give us a chance Danny."

Danny looked into both of his parents eyes who were smiling at him calmly. He took a deep breath and started his explanation.

"We decided to call him Dan. That's why I asked dad to stop using that nickname on me… Do you remember Clockwork?"

An hour or so later brought Danny close to the end of his story. "So Clockwork stopped time and kept Dan from cheating for me. I got to make the choice to NOT cheat and everything was okay again." Danny lied solemnly. In truth, he hadn't told anyone the real story yet, not even Sam and Tucker. He'd told them and Jazz a different story. He'd explained to Jazz who Dan was and a general story of how he'd come to be, namely that he'd cheated and then lost his friends and family and somehow become evil. Afterwards, he'd explained to Sam and Tucker that he hadn't been the one to come back to the present and he could remember the look of shock on their faces when they'd realized they'd acted buddy buddy with the monstrous version of their friend in disguise. Finally he'd said Clockwork had intervened and pulled Danny from the future after he'd learned his Wail and stopped Dan from cheating for him. He never told them the gruesome details behind Dan's birth that he'd learned from Future Vlad nor how his human half had been murdered and he never ever told them that they had in all reality… died in a time or reality that occurred after Dan had cheated for him, that he'd been unable to stop Dan's actions in the end. No… Danny wasn't sure he'd ever tell anyone the full story… he wasn't sure he could. Too much shame, fear, and misery bubbled up inside of him from the idea. Perhaps it was the thought that not telling made what had happened less real. It was this highly edited story that he'd supplied to Sam, Tucker, and Jazz that he was now finishing telling to his parents. He didn't even bother to describe to them what _he_ looked like either...

"I will never NEVER become like him. I promise!" Danny spoke up loudly, looking at his parents' faces in slight worry and desperation. It'd been not _too_ long ago since they'd learned of his half-ghost status; he was concerned that any fears that he wasn't in control of himself would resurface in their minds. He could wake up with a Fenton Bazooka pointed at him. He flinched when Jack leaned forward and hugged Danny tightly. Having one of his few moments of seriousness, Jack spoke.

"We all our demons, Danno. Who could have the gall to blame you for having them too?"

Danny's tensed body relaxed and he hugged his father back tightly as well. "Thanks dad, thanks so much."

After father and son separated from their hug, Danny noticed his mother was looking away.

"What's wrong mom?"

Maddie looked back over at her family and frowned. "I guess… I just feel bad for Dan. I know he's the bad guy, but at the same time he was…"

Danny glanced at the floor. "He has no remorse mom. At least he showed none for anyone while I was around. The world was barren, only Amity stood. It only stood because he saw it as his play thing."

After a moment of silence, the Jack looked up and saw the lingering distress in his son's eyes.

"Hey Danny-boy, how about we go down into the lab and do a check up on some things? I have a couple of inventions I need to fine tune and we would like to see you work with your powers again."

Danny glanced up and a calmer smile graced his face. "Yeah, okay."

zzz

The three walked down into the lab as Jack ran over to a table.

"So uh, should I be on guard?" Danny asked glancing at the odd machine in his father's hands.

"Jack, I don't know if that invention is safe to test on Danny."

Jack looked up and then back down at the machine. "Huh, yeah I didn't think of that. How about I re-test the Ghost Gabber?" Jack smiled and went to put the machine back on the table when he fumbled it and it dropped to the ground. "Ther-oh oops!"

-Clang- ... -Click-

Danny suddenly whimpered and gripped his head and then cried out slightly. "Ah! Rrrr, what... is that!?"

Jack grabbed it up from the floor and tried to find an off switch in a panic.

"It's sort of like a dog whistle for ghosts, but more powerful... You can hear it?" Maddie asked.

Danny whimpered again slightly before painfully nodding his head. Finally Jack found the switch and turned it off. Danny sighed in relief.

"Sorry, son. I guess it works though, huh?" Jack grinned sheepishly.

Danny nodded and picked at his ears.

"You alright, sweetie?" Maddie asked and hugged Danny from the side.

Danny flushed in slight embarrassment. "I'm fine, mom."

"I'm fine mom, fear me."

Danny deadpanned and glanced at his father.

"It's working!"

"Dad, ghosts don't even talk like that. Many ghosts speak English or other world languages, there are a few that speak Latin and Esperanto though. You could try to make a translator for those. The gabber sounds more like a Box Ghost translator." Danny couldn't help but snicker at the end at the thought.

"Latin?" Maddie asked.

"I think every ghost knows Latin. I suppose it's the language of the dead. I can speak it too, but I only found that out recently."

"Really?" Maddie asked and then tapped her mouth in thought. "So ghosts know Latin and their native language, depending on where they're from."

"Yeah pretty much." Danny nodded.

Maddie smiled and relaxed. "We really were off in some of our theories."

"Some, not all. There are some ghosts that are more emotion than person. Every ghost has humanity though, it just manifests in different ways."

Maddie seemed intrigued by her son's knowledge. "So can ghosts, full ghosts, feel pain?"

"Ghosts feel pain not from chemicals in body or biotic nervous system but from their core. The core gives out electric impulses that help keep a ghost together, if something damages the core or knocks it for a loop, then those impulses are disrupted some and cause a feeling of emptiness which is somewhat equal to human pain. Half of it is simply the fear it causes. Most ghosts fear disappearing, especially those with lots of unfinished business to do." Danny scratched his cheek and looked away as he talked. Maddie and Jack were staring at him in slight wonder.

"And well anything else you can think of?"

Danny smirked and let out a sigh of relief. "I learned from Clockwork several months ago that ghosts can't have children and don't have the desire to uh... 'make children'. They adopt many ghosts that died as children as they're own. Just because they can't have actually blood-related children doesn't mean they don't care for them like they could. Ghosts are already possessive and trying to build a 'family' so to speak is just something that makes their time in the Zone better, until they find peace or are sent to Judgement."

"How interesting. I suppose humans enjoy having others around to sympathize with during times of suffering, be it as simple as a bad grade on a test or something more dire." Maddie nodded.

"You're so smart, Danno! You and your pals have really learned a lot. And me and Maddie thought we were the ghost experts."

Danny smiled and looked up at his parents. "Takes one to know one."

"How did the conversation of ghosts having children come up between you and Clockwork?" Maddie asked with slight suspicion.

Danny blushed and waved his hands. "Not for me! I still have um... everything in tact."

"Of course! You're a Fenton!"

Danny facepalmed at his dad's remark. He looked over at his mom and smiled. "I was just wondering about someone named Box Lunch."

"She's not in your files."

Danny smiled but then kinda frowned at the thought. "Not yet, but one day she might be."

Maddie seemed to understand he sadness. "She was from the future, right?"

"Yeah and she's adopted by the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady in the future."

"She'll have to die first."

"Yeah..."

"Hmm... Well let's check out some of your powers. It's been long enough for another check for everything." Maddie smiled and walked over to pull some papers out from a folder on the wall.

Jack looked over at his son who seemed like he was ready to transform and start his practice session. "Hey Danny-boy?"

"Yeah Dad?"

"Is there anything that ghosts really don't like?"

Danny thought for a second, before he looked up at his mother who was motioning to them that everything was ready. Danny nodded and transformed into Phantom. He glanced at his dad as he floated a few inches off the ground. "Never ask a ghost how they died and don't ask them what they're real name was. They make up their new names for a reason."

Jack nodded as Danny flew forward and started flying through the rings and obstacles in his way.

zzz

**A few days later. Seventh of December. School.**

"Guess what today is!" Tucker grinned broadly as Danny, Sam, and Valerie walked beside him.

"Meatless Monday?" Sam asked with a sly smirk on her face. Valerie laughed into her hand when Tucker glared at Sam.

"No. Definitely No." Tucker looked over at Danny with pleading eyes while Sam looked at her boyfriend as if pleading with him to continue the charade.

"Uh," He looked At Tucker again and couldn't disappoint his buddy with the face he was making. "Your birthday?"

"Yeeeessss~" Tucker replied.

Sam rolled her eyes at her friend, Valerie laughed a bit and Danny chuckled and shook his head.

"Remember, we're meeting at-" Tucker spoke up.

"The Nasty Burger." His three friends replied.

"At-"

"Six o' clock. We know!"

Tucker grumbled. "Geez just making sure."

It was early in the morning and so they had about twenty minutes until class actually started for the day. They paused when they noticed a bunch of kids gathered around Dash's locker, watching something.

With only a glance at Tucker, the techno-geek nodded and started typing away at his PDA, until the same video popped up on the devices' screen. The four friends squished together to see the screen. Tucker blushed slightly when Valerie's cheek touched his.

It was Lance Thunder on a news report.

_And in other news, a new fad has gripped Amity Park and it's citizens, yet another mystery for the town to solve. An artist by the name of TheEidolon started producing sculptures of Amity's various ghostly visitors good and bad. No one is sure what the pieces are actually made of, but more importantly no one knows who TheEidolon actually is. Is the artist a he? a she? what age? No one knows for sure but everyone knows that if you haven't purchased at least one of his pieces then you've been living under a rock! We will report any new info we can gather on this mysterious artist and of course anything new about our ghostly teen hero, Danny Phantom! This is Lancer Thunder, have a great day Amity!_

Tucker turned off the video and three friends glanced at a stuttering Danny.

"They're just little sculptures," Danny muttered and almost finished with a squeak. Sam rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Danny, you can form sculptures with your mind, hence the Cyrokinesis, they aren't just sculptures. Technically you created them from vapor in the air! It's a wonderful skill and it's good to see people appreciate it even if they aren't fully aware."

"Why do people have to make such a big deal out of it though?" Danny grumbled as the four walked on.

"Because people do that when they think things are cool?" Tucker asked with a raised eyebrow.

Danny shrugged. "Eh, whatever."

"How many of the others have to completed for Mr. Fundoo?" Sam asked.

"I just need to do the Ember one and I'll be done."

The four friends split up for their first period class that day.

zzz

Danny and Sam were again at the Art Gallery after school. Danny had had the time to finish up the Ember piece and so the two were delivering the new pieces to Mr. Fundoo before time to get to Tucker's party came around. Danny was loitering around out back while Sam was inside the back of the Gallery, talking to Fundoo. Danny glanced up when he heard someone coming and locked eyes with Lance Thunder and his crew sneaking around to the back.

"And what are you doing here young man?" Lance Thunder asked and took a couple steps forward.

Danny flicked his gaze back and forth before technically telling the truth.

"Uh, waiting for a friend?"

"Is it TheEidolon? Delivering his newest batch of work?!"

"No, no, of course not! My friend just… really likes art?" Danny lied lamely. Lance Thunder's eyes drooped.

"Uh huh."

Danny started sweating nervously.

"Then you shouldn't mind if we just wait here with you."

"Uh… of course not."

Danny realized they would definitely pester Sam as soon as she came out. For some reason the thought made him angry and gave him a feeling of possessiveness that he wasn't used to. He closed his eyes and leaned back, acting as if he was resting, but he was really trying to mentally connect to Sam. He focused hard on her form, face, voice and spoke.

_Sam? You there?_

_Danny! God, you scared me. Are you using your telepathy?_

_Uh I hope?_

_Why? Something wrong?_

_Lance Thunder and his crew came to the back to try and ambush TheEidolon._

_The irony._

_Yeah yeah I know. Anyways, I told them I'm waiting for a friend so they've got me pinned down._

_What should we do._

_Find another exit and then call my cell. I'll say my friend was actually somewhere else. It was a miscommunication or something._

_Alright, no problem._

_See ya in a minute, Sam._

Danny opened his eyes and started whistling to pass the time, glancing at Lance and his crew every now and then. Finally his cell started to ring. He picked it up, faked a short conversation with Sam and then waved to a befuddled Lance and hurried out of the alleyway behind the Mall. Danny jogged down the street until he spotted Sam in the distance.

"A close one?"

"You don't even know."

"I wonder what people would think if they ever figured out both your secrets."

"I don't wonder," Danny mumbled.

"Here I thought I was supposed to be the downer of the group?"

Danny looked at her after they'd linked hands and sighed. "Sorry Sam, it's just the anxiety that comes with _two_ identities is twice the trouble."

"That's elementary school math, Danny."

"Ha ha aren't you funny."

"Just trying to make you smile. Good work on using your telepathy by the way."

Danny smiled right after and side hugged her. "You always make me smile."

"You are such a dork."

"I'm your dork though."

The two wandered down the road until they could see the Nasty Burger in the distance. They walked inside and saw Tucker, Valerie, Brandon, Mikey, Lester, and Norman already at a couple tables. The two walked over and sat down by their friend. So they started ordering their food and talking, and at some point during the party, the nerds in the group started to theorize about TheEidolon.

"I find it intriguing that the artist chose that name. It could have something to do with what things he makes into sculptures, but it could also be more of a literal reason behind it." Mikey ended with a nasally snort.

"I've tried looking at the structure of one of his pieces through my microscope, but oddly enough it seems to have the same structure as ice. How would it not melt though?" Norman hummed.

"Maybe it could be some kind of spell," Lester spoke and waved his fingers to emphasize his point.

"Now now, let's try to stay in the world of science rather than dungeons and dragons fantasies," Norman grumbled.

"But dragons exist! That Dora and Aragon ghost can turn into them!" Brandon yelped.

Tucker rose a finger. "Actually they just turn into dragons. That doesn't mean dragons have ever actually existed."

Valerie shook her head and rolled her eyes, but had a content smile on her face. Everyone continued talking for quite some time before gifts were given to Tucker. Danny expressed that his gift couldn't be given here and that he'd give his gift later. Sam gave Tucker a PDA that hadn't hit the market yet, Valerie got him a new beret so that when his old one wore out he'd have a spare, the others all gave him video games and data chips for his system at home and his new PDA. As it started to get dark, everyone said goodbye to each other except for Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie. They started walking towards Tucker's home as he buried his face in his new PDA, clicking the buttons the whole way. Normally it would've annoyed his friends for him to be _so_ zoomed in, but it was his birthday. Once the four friends got to the door, Danny spoke up. He coughed on his hand.

"Uh, Tuck?"

-click click click click-

"Tuck?"

-click click click-

Danny rolled his eyes and let his eyelids droop as he placed a hand on Tucker's new PDA and made it turn invisible. Tucker blinked and looked up at Danny.

"Heeey-" Tucker whined.

"Tuck, you do want my present for you, right?"

Tucker chuckled and then grinned. "Oh yeah, gimee gimee!" He held out his hands now that his PDA was visible and held them as if waiting for Danny to drop something into his hands. Danny chuckled and put an arm around Tucker, noogieing him. He pulled something from his pocket with his other hand and put it into Tucker's.

"What is this?" Tucker asked and looked at the odd cartridge.

Danny grinned. "I went and visited Technus. You might wanna scan it with one of your old PDAs before using it. In case he didn't listen and put a virus in it or something, but it's _supposed_ to be a DLC, a custom one.

There was silence before- "No way."

Danny grinned even wider and Sam and Valerie glanced at each other in confusion.

"You didn't."

"I did."

"Dude! I was joking!" Tucker yelled in excitement.

Valerie poked Tucker in the shoulder. "What did he do?"

Tucker grinned. "He put me into the Danny Phantom brawl game! I'm an unlockable character with this DLC!"

Danny smiled. "Technically so is Sam and Valerie. I even was able to fit Jazz, Dani and Mom and Dad."

"Sweet!" Sam exclaimed.

"Whoa you mean I'm in a video game?" Valerie asked.

Danny cocked a brow at Tucker. "Wanna test it out?"

Tucker whooped and ran inside before his friends jogged in afterwards, saying hi to his parents and disappearing into his room.

zzz

Soon the four of them were in Tucker's room. Tucker hurried over to his console to get the game plugged up and ready, while the other three plopped down on the couch that was resting in front of Tucker's TV.

Sam and Valerie rested normally while Danny ended up sitting upside down on the couch.

"Hey Tuck, don't forget to check that cartridge for viruses first. I threatened Technus with melting his lair and all his technology inside, but he still might have put something in there to spite me," Danny spoke up before stretching his muscles now that he was comfortable.

"Oh right, I would hate Technus forever if he did that," Tucker grumbled and moved over to his desk to test the cartridge with one of his older PDAs.

"Hey Sam, can you pass me those chips?" Danny asked.

"They're aren't salt and vinegar, Danny," Tucker huffed as he worked.

"Salt and vinegar, who eats those?" Valerie asked and Danny deadpanned.

"I think they're tasty, but I don't care what flavor they are," Danny replied haughtily.

"Cheddar?" Sam asked.

"Cheddar's good," Danny grinned and started eating them upside down.

"Seems this cartridge has no viruses or abnormal things on it. I guess Technus didn't wanna test you." Tucker smirked and walked back over to add the DLC to his console.

"Or maybe he was thanking you for your villain monologue lessons," Sam joked.

"Villain monologue lessons?" Valerie asked and cocked her brow.

"Technus just has a bad habit of telling me everything he's going to do before he does it. It's kinda sad. I feel sorry for him," Danny replied with slight irritation.

"Your heart is obscenely ginormous Danny," Sam shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Except when he's being a jerk," Tucker quipped.

"Except when he's being a jerk." Sam grinned after mimicking Tucker.

"Hey!" Danny yelped and flipped over to sit upright.

"You know it's true. Besides I don't want a perfect boyfriend. I want you."

Danny smirked. "Ah how sweet. What did you do with the real Sam?"

"Cute," she replied with teasing sarcasm.

"Tada!" Tucker grinned and dashed over to the couch to sit. He almost sat on Valerie's lap on accident and blushed before scooting further down. The trio wasn't quite used to having four people on Tucker's couch yet. He passed everyone a controller and the game started up.

"So a versus game since the main storyline is only one player?" Danny asked.

"Yep oh and dude, you need to get to Vlad. The final cutscene makes you look badass and Vlad gets it good," Tucker replied.

"You couldn't beat your own game before Tucker?" Sam asked and then chuckled.

Danny pouted as everyone started to choose their characters. "I can't get past stupid Vortex."

Valerie gasped. "Wow there I am."

"So predictably we're all going to play as ourselves?" Sam grinned.

"Yep!" Danny responded happily.

"Wow, Technus actually did a good job on this. He even bothered to make us balanced! I was worried Danny's character would over power us, but we've got all kinds of Fenton gear," Tucker mused aloud.

A few minutes later found the four in the midst of a four way brawl. Sam had one elbow cocked at an angle due to the intensity of the fight, Valerie had her tongue suck out the side of her mouth since she wasn't as learned as the others, though she'd picked it up pretty quick, Tucker was the most stable with him staring intently and pushing buttons rapidly, and Danny looked much like Tucker only with his concentration on the game, he'd started to float a bit off the couch and his eyes were glowing green.

"Oh damn it," Valerie cursed after she'd lost her last life. She watched intently as Sam, Tucker, and Danny continued battling it out. She jumped in shock when Sam's character got KO'd.

"Wow. I guess that's what I get for waiting a while to get this game," Sam laughed and watched happily with Valerie as the two boys were still caught in their intense struggle. Sam noticed Danny was floating. "Uh Danny?"

"MMhm?" Danny asked absentmindedly.

"You're floating."

"And?"

"What if Tucker's parents come to check on us?"

"Oh oops, yeah." Danny's rear came back in contact with the couch and the two boys continued clicking buttons. Tucker started to lean forward more and more. Danny started making slightly panicked noises before-

_VICTOR! Tucker, player one wins!_

"Aw man!" Danny grunted.

"Yeah!" Tucker shouted in victory. "Spector Deflector for the win!"

"Now I hate those things in real life AND the virtual world," Danny rolled his eyes teasingly before he cringed. "I just wish they hadn't decided to make my death animation have me turn into a pile of ectoplasm. Kinda a bad visual."

"It seems I'm the DOOM master, Danny's the New Age Tomes master and Tucker's the Danny Phantom and the Ghost Gauntlet master," Sam spoke.

"That's slightly embarrassing. I'm not the master of my own game," Danny grinned sheepishly.

"And video games are fun, kinda, but I'm no pro," Valerie added.

"You're just a noob," Tucker replied, not even paying attention.

Valerie paused and gave Tucker a slightly irritated look.

"And Tucker still doesn't have a built in filter." Sam smirked

Valerie's face changed from irritated to playful before she elbowed Tucker hard enough to make him flop onto the floor and loose his beret.

"Ouch."

"We could always see who's the best at the real thing." Valerie grinned wickedly and Tucker gulped.

"Heh heh, no need."

zzz

Eventually the friends turned off the system after another couple of good brawls. Sam and Danny ended up on Tucker's bed. Danny was on his stomach and Sam was leaning against his side. Tucker and Valerie rested in a couple of bean bags chairs. The four spent the rest of their time talking about random things and some ghost things.

Tucker's mother then came up to Tucker's room and told the teens it was almost midnight, which was all their curfews since they were older. The parents, minus Sam's, would probably be lenient since it was Tucker's birthday though. The four walked down to the front door of Tucker's house and Danny and Sam said goodnight before Danny flew Sam home so she wouldn't get berated by her parents, leaving Valerie and Tucker the only ones left.

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Val."

"Yeah." She took a step closer and kissed his cheek. "That's my bonus birthday gift. I think... I think we can call it official." She then turned and walked away, giving him one more wave over her shoulder. Tucker went inside his house and shut the door quietly. He sunk to the floor and sat.

"Best birthday, ever."

**zzzzzzzzzzz**

**So now we introduce TheEidolon. What do you think? I always loved the idea that Danny had some sort of artistic talent of some kind. I mean the guy can shape ice with his mind. It **_**is**_** good practice for making larger constructs too.**

**And Tucker and Valerie become an official couple!**

**zzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**Zanza Flux: Here's something to think about: Do you think Sam would have been so eager to put Danny through that again when she carelessly made that wish around Deserie? Knowing how painful it was for him the first time and how she almost lost her best friend, I'm surprised she didn't feel a little guilty about that.**

**NoSignal: Yeah, I always kinda wondered about that in the show. I suppose the second time with Desiree, she might not have been thinking clearly. I mean if all of a sudden everyone I knew didn't remember me and there was barely any proof that I'd never met them, then I'd probably what to make things the way they were without thinking things through. She was probably desperate to make things right again and knew that only Danny Phantom could stop Desiree. And of course the first portal accident wasn't on purpose. But yeah, you do bring up a good question. :)**

**Rogue Deity Master: this is a well thought out story, though I do wonder about Valerie's connection to Tucker**

**NoSignal: I'm so glad you like it! I'm wanting to build on Tucker and Valerie's relationship. It was canon that he liked Valerie for a time, but then she started to hunt his friend and then Danny was dating her for a time. I want to look at their relationship in an interesting way. I can imagine, much like this chapter's scene of them playing video games, that Tucker, since Danny and Sam are a couple, will help her learn _more_ about what it means to have true friends and perhaps Tucker will find his own brand of courage for her sake. Valerie will always probably wear the pants in the relationship though ;)**

**zzzz**

**Enjoy! **

**~NoSignal**


	10. A Truly Merry Christmas

**Hm, I bet some of you were waiting for this. ;)**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_I don't care about whose DNA has recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching-they are your family." ~ Jim Butcher, Proven Guilty._

zzz

Christmas was just a few days away. Jazz had come home several days prior and was beyond happy to hear that she no longer had to save her brother from being burnt, zapped, or torn apart by their parents anymore. Danny could see more decorations being put up for the holidays around town and Casper High had finally released them for the break. After a day of helping his parents decorating around the house, night started to fall and Danny waited patiently with a plan in mind.

He remembered the year he'd almost ruined Christmas and messed with the Ghostwriter and had wanted to do something special one year just to make up for almost ruining things. So as the night did fall, he slipped out the house after transforming in Phantom.

He flew high into the air to get an aerial view of all of Amity and looked about. He smirked and took a deep breath before sailing back down towards the town.

zzz

Danny was completely out of it, face down in his bed, snoring. He'd worked hard last night to make his masterpiece. He wasn't certain if everyone would have a bigger clue as to who TheEidolon was or to most, what he was, but he didn't mind too much. They might figure out something or they might not; it was a toss up. Finally his phone rang. He and his friends had planned to go Christmas shopping that day. He picked up the phone, not moving, and brought it to his ear before turning his head so he could speak without being hindered by his pillow.

"Hello?"

"Danny?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Did you?"

"Do all that stuff you see? Yep."

"You… you really did? Of course you did. Who else could?"

"Klemper?"

"Oh ha ha. I just can't believe…"

"Just something as a sorry to everyone in Amity."

"Danny, it's… it's amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it Sam."

"We're meeting at my house, but I'll call everyone else and give you another couple hours of sleep or at least to get ready. You deserve it. You did a great thing, Danny. I can see kids outside looking around."

A smile split Danny's face. "Good. See ya later, Sam."

They hung up and Danny was going to try and get at least another thirty minutes before getting up until he heard a knock at his door.

"Danny! Danny, Oh my God! Did you do all the stuff around the city! You've got to see the news, little brother!"

Danny smirked and with a groan lifted himself from his bed and pulled some things on, mostly some sweats over his boxers and a tank. He opened the door and Jazz saw the slight darkness under his eyes.

"Danny, you must've been up almost all night!"

"Yep."

"And I just woke you up."

"Yep."

Jazz grimaced slightly in guilt. "Sorry?"

Danny smiled and hugged his sister. "No problem. Let's see what they have to say about my masterpiece."

The siblings went downstairs and saw their parents looking at the screen of the TV. The family sat together as Lance Thunder talked.

_And in other news, if you've been outside of your home today, then you'll notice that overnight, Amity Park has undergone a strange but beautiful transformation. Some kind of crystal or ice had coated various places around the city. The lake has frozen over and snowbanks are there to save skaters from nasty falls, arcs of ice and icicles are branching between buildings and over the roads, buildings are decorated with icy embellishments and snow, the Mall even has it's own solid ice tree decorating its front, complete with a vast variety of ornaments. To say Amity Park has been turned into a winter wonderland is an understatement folks! It's like the North Pole suddenly relocated here to humble Amity! No one is sure how this happened or why the ice like and snow like manifestations show no signs of melting. Children are playing in the streets and finding joy in the various caves and icy forts scattered about town. I don't know who or what did this, but it's given a new twist to Christmas in Amity._

As soon as Lance was done, Jack and Maddie turned to look at their son with blank faces. He blinked when suddenly Jack grinned like a mad-man and scooped him up into a bone-crushing hug.

"Danno! Do you know how proud Santa would be of you!? This is amazing, son!"

"Oh Danny, it's beautiful! You must be exhausted sweetie, making and shaping all that ice."

Danny slipped out of his father's hug with intangibility and took a large gasp of air, before smiling.

"Thanks Mom, Dad. I just wanted to well…"

"Yes dear, but it was the Ghostwriter's fault! You just let your temper act as a catalyst. It's our fault too, your father and I, for being so silly and not being as attentive as we should've been." Maddie smiled sadly and kissed Danny on the cheek.

"Now aren't you and Jazz needing to get ready to go shopping? Me and your father have some things to do before we go out ourselves."

Danny and Jazz perked up before cutting their eyes over at each other. Both then turned and darted for the staircase before slamming into each other and struggling to be the first to go up the stairs. Danny then went intangible and flew up through the wall.

"No fair!" Jazz shouted after she'd fallen to the ground due to the absence of her brother's presence beside her.

She heard the water turn on in the upstairs shower. "What's that, Jazz? I can't hear you over the sound of the water! It'll have to wait until I'm out!"

Jazz grumbled. "Aren't you the jokester."

zzz

"Goodness, Danny. I have to say, obviously ghosts can create beautiful things." Valerie spoke in awe as the five friends walked down the road, towards the Mall. People were out everywhere, looking at the ice and snow that wouldn't melt until Danny made it melt. He saw children laughing and playing with their watchful parents nearby.

"Thanks, Valerie."

"Dude, how'd you shape so much ice?" Tucker asked and started typing on his new PDA, like he was doing calculations.

"Practice from the sculptures. I had to take a few breaks here and there, though."

"This has got to be thousands and thousands of tons of ice and snow dude."

"Don't remind me."

Sam smiled brightly and swung her and Danny's interlocked hands a bit. She was of course more happy than her normal self since it was the holidays; she always was cheerful this time of year.

"I think it's just… actually I don't think words do it justice."

"Geez, Sam." Danny replied and blushed deeply.

"How long do you think it'll take for someone to figure out the connection between TheEidolon and this none melting ice?" Jazz asked.

"Probably not too long. Then again the town still hasn't figure out I'm Phantom," Danny replied and shrugged. "But at least it'll explain what the sculptures are made of at the very least."

"Or they might never make the connection," Tucker quipped.

Suddenly a wisp of blue flew out from Danny's mouth and Valerie's alarm beeped a couple times at her.

"WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND!?"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Danny sighed and looked around before walking into an alleyway and transforming with Valerie beside him. The two flew out with their friends hot on their tails. They neared the center of town and saw Klemper looking at a bunch of people with a finger to his mouth in confusion. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw Danny.

"Phantom!" Klemper shouted and barreled into Danny, giving him a massive hug.

"Hey Klemper," Danny replied and saw everyone below looking up in confusion.

"I was just asking these humans if they'd be my friends. If they scream… is that a yes or a no?" Klemper backed up and cocked his head.

"You just spooked them, that's all," Danny smiled.

Valerie deadpanned and glanced over at Danny. "Really? Spooked them?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "It's the truth."

"Phantom, could you teach me to use my ice powers better? I've made forts before, but nothing like this! You turned all of Amity into a white winter wonderland!" Klemper squealed and spun with his arms wide.

People on the street started whispering and one brave man moved forward. "Is that true, Phantom? Did you do all of this?"

Danny looked down at the man and smiled. He rubbed the back of his neck when he answered. "I uh, was kinda a scrooge one year if you haven't forgotten and I just wanted to do something to try and set things right. I'd thought about this for a while and well… did it. It's ecto-ice. It doesn't melt like normal ice, so whenever everyone wants it gone just give me a shout and I'll melt it down when you've all wintered out."

A little boy broke from his mother's hold and ran forward to be more directly under the two ghosts and the Huntress. He smiled. "Thanks Mr. Phantom. I've nebber seen something so bootyful."

Danny face broke into a smile and he floated down closer to the boy. "Thanks, I'm happy you like it." He held out his hand in front of the boy. With little effort, he formed an ice crystal and placed it in the boy's hand.

"Whoa." The boy looked over at Klemper who'd been watching. "You were wanting a friend?"

Klemper perked up and Danny glanced back nervously.

"A friend?"

"Yeah. I'll be your friend, Mr. Klemppar."

Danny turned to face Klemper and put a hand in front of the ghost's face. "Only for the day though, okay Klemper? I'm sure his parents don't want you popping in randomly."

"Awwww…. Phantom… He WANTS to be my FRIEND!" Klemper whined and his lip trembled.

"I know and that's very kind of him, but his parents wouldn't like that, so you listen and behave and maybe you can be friends with him another day if you ask me."

Klemper pouted. "Why do I have to listen to you?"

"Because, Amity is my lair."

"You don't have a lair because your a-"

Danny slapped a hand over Klemper's mouth and glanced back at the people nervously. He chuckled and then glanced at Klemper again.

"Maybe not, but it's where I haunt so this can go very well or very poorly, your choice. I can let you play with the kids if you're careful and kind or I can suck you up in the thermos and send you packing, understood?"

Klemper looked into Danny's eyes as he pulled his hand away.

Klemper smiled and nodded. "Okay okay, I just want to be tha boy's friend!"

A little girl ran up to stand beside the boy. "Can you be my friend too, Mr. Klemper?"

Klemper seemed stunned for a moment.

"You can make a snowman whiff us!"

Danny smiled and touched down on the ground. He kneeled and started to form a massive bit of ice that quickly shaped into three balls stacked on each other. The kids and adults both gasped in wonder as it slowly was shaped into a Frosty Snowman. Klemper's jaw dropped.

"Mr. Phantom! You're ice powers are so strong!" Klemper gasped and looked all over the creation.

Danny smiled. "Lots of practice. Maybe next time I'm in the Zone I'll show ya some tricks."

Klemper bounced on his heels in the snow. "Yes yes! Please!"

Danny smiled as the kids started to look all over the snowman and smile at Danny. Danny suddenly tensed though when he heard something. He snatched the kids up, making their parents gasp in alarm, before a missile slammed into the spot they'd all been. Klemper fell onto his rear and Danny halted his roll before shielding the kids with his body.

"Who's there!?" Danny looked around until his hearing picked up small engine sounds. The Guys in White came around the corner on two hover crafts.

"It's the Ghost Boy. Should've guessed by it's ectoplasmic energy level."

"Geez do you guys have to show up now? And I'm not an it, I'm a he!"

"We can't have you dirtying the streets, scum."

The little boy behind Danny yelled. "Phantom's a good guy!"

"Yeah! Leave Phantom alone, you bullies!" The girl shouted.

Danny grabbed them up and floated them over to their parents' arms. He then walked back to the center of the road. Sam growled and leapt out from the rest of the crowd.

"Don't you closed-minded fools have someplace else to be!?"

"Negative. We've come to inspect the ice that showed up here. It's of ectoplasmic origin and thus must be eliminated." Operative O spoke.

"Nooo!" The boy and girl whined and the adults started murmuring.

"It's just ice and snow! The only difference is that it doesn't melt from the Human world's properties. I swear that's all it is!" Phantom exclaimed.

"First we need to deal with you, Ghost Boy." Operative K replied.

They aimed two missiles at Danny and fired. Danny leapt into the air and flew away only for the rockets to follow him. Valerie watched in shocked anger with Danny's friends. The people on the street were trying to decide what to do.

The rockets eventually slammed into Danny and he fell to the ground and rolled across the ground. His suit was torn in a few places and ectoplasm was oozing through the burnt places on his skin. He groaned and pulled himself to his hands and knees.

Operative K aimed another set of rockets and the people started booing the Guys in White. The rocket flew, Valerie moved to help Danny before he took a deep breath and let loose a stream of fire from his throat. The rockets exploded as soon as they neared the flames and the ice near Danny melted a bit. Danny glared up at the Operatives and his eyes glowed green before he slid into the ground. The two operatives glanced around with their goggles but couldn't find Danny while he was in the ground. Suddenly he was behind them and he thrust his hands into the hovercraft they were on with intangibility and yanked out some wires. The craft started to waver in the air.

"You leave everyone alone! This ice and snow is for everyone in Amity! If you can't appreciate it, then fly south for the winter!" Danny quipped before letting them go. Their craft wavered a bit and they growled at Danny before starting to fly away. They couldn't continue to fight with gimmicky craft.

"We'll be back Ghost Boy!"

Danny sighed and flew up to start repairing some of the ice he had to melt.

The boy pulled away from his mother's grasp again. "Mr. Phantom are you hurt?"

Phantom looked down and shook his head. "A little, but I'll be okay." Phantom floated back down to the ground and looked at Klemper. "I've got things to do, so behave and play nice, okay Klemper?"

Klemper nodded. "Okay Danny!" He then sat on the ground and started to build and snowball in his hand. The boy and girl looked at their parents and the adults glanced at each other and then Danny before smiling a little bit and slowly nodding.

Danny smiled brightly and then waved goodbye. He grinned and jumped onto the street and started to skate down the road, forcing the ice he made beneath his feet to melt so cars wouldn't have trouble once he was gone. He turned and started skating away backwards before he jumped, backflipping into the air and turning his legs into a tail at the same time and flying off.

A few people cheered at the short display and the children laughed with pleasure.

Valerie shot off after him and they searched for a place to transform.

"Show off."

"What!? I've created all this and I'm not allowed to ice skate when I wanna?"

"Okay okay, you win Danny."

Eventually the two met back up with their friends by the Mall after Valerie transformed out of her suit and Phantom turned into Fenton. The five friends walked towards the Mall, passing by the giant ice tree Danny had created.

-Thwack!-

Danny recoiled slightly when the snowball slammed into the back of his head. He turned to looked over his shoulder and glared at Dash and Kwan who were laughing behind a snow bank. The two jocks then walked off.

"Ignore them," Sam spoke as Danny melted the snow from his head with his hot core while still a bit angry.

"Trying…" Danny grumbled and the friends finally made it into the Mall to shop the day away.

zzz

**Amity Park Slums. Christmas Eve.**

A rat peeked out of a dirtied and disguarded rain guard before running out and grabbing a piece of garbage. It gnawed on the food before running away and into a crack in a worn down building. A can struck a place the rat once was.

"I don't think I could eat garbage. I would probably get sick even with my ghost half."

The voice belonged to none other than Dani Phantom. The young girl was in her human form and walking down the alley to kick the can she'd kicked before. She sighed when she got to it and kicked it one more time and a bit harder. After the can had disappeared into a pile of trash, she growled and rubbed her arms. It was so cold. It had been cold before the ice and snow had appeared around Amity, but now it was just a bit colder than before. Dani had overheard that her cousin had made the town into the Winter Wonderland it was and had thought it was great; she would have enjoyed it even more if she could've floated around in her ghost form though, not as susceptible to the cold like that. She was afraid to do that though, she didn't want to get Danny in trouble if someone spotted her and tried to hunt her. It'd been a few months since she'd been in Amity last anyways. She had kinda hoped to find Danny and just hang out with him. Every time she tried to travel far away, she always ended up back with Danny or at least being drawn to him. He was… all she had.

She sighed and walked around a corner. She yelped when a piece of paper smacked against her face due to the wind that had picked up. She peeled it from her face and saw it was a page from a calendar. It read, "December twenty fourth." Dani had forgotten… Christmas was tomorrow.

"The time of year families are supposed to be together…"

She let the wind take the page from her hand.

"Sucks to be me…"

She rounded the next corner and got a good view of the Mall. A tree of ice glistened in the lights about the streets and homes and Mall itself.

"Danny… I think I remember him mentioning he didn't like Christmas."

Dani perked up, thinking that maybe he'd be more apt to come do something with her if he didn't want to be around his house. It was a long shot and Dani knew that in the back of her mind, but that tiny bit of hope was powerful enough to get her to turn herself invisible and run towards Danny's home. That would be the first place she'd look.

zzz

It was finally Christmas Eve and Danny was happy. Imagine that. His family had started some new traditions since that fateful year with the Ghostwriter even before they knew he was a half-ghost; at the moment they were watching a movie as a family and drinking warm drinks. Once the movie was over, they were going to place some of the last ornaments on the tree.

"Danny."

Jazz felt Danny flinch and Danny realized Jazz hadn't heard anything.

"What's up?"

"Uh, nothing."

Danny thought maybe it was just the wind or something when he heard it again.

"Cuz!" It whispered louder in his ear. He realized what might be going on and excused himself from the room. He walked into the room that the family had put the tree in that year.

"Dani?"

As soon as the words came off his tongue. Danielle in her human form phased into view.

"Danny? Uh, Merry Christmas?"

Danny smiled and bent to hug his 'cousin' tightly. "How've you been Dani? You've grown."

"So have you, Mr. Gigantor!"

"Tch," Danny teased and messed Dani's hair.

"Danny, what are doing in- Oh my!"

Danielle froze and gasped before phasing out of sight in front of Danny's Mom.

"Oh I didn't mean to scare her!"

Danny stood and looked around. "Dani! Dani! Come back, it's okay! Mom knows, everything. Dad too."

"What do I know?" Jack asked and popped his head into the room, making the ball of his Santa hat he was wearing sway. Jazz was right behind him.

Danny looked around, "They know about you and where you really came from. Please come out, Dani. I want you to meet them."

Finally, Dani slowly appeared and looked around at the people there.

Maddie smiled and kneeled like Danny had done once again.

"Hello sweetie. Your name's Dani right? With an I?"

Dani smiled. "Yep!" She glanced at Danny. "So they're cool with the clone thing?"

"Yeah." Danny nodded and then furrowed his brows. "Why did you need me by the way?"

Dani glanced at the ground and messed with her foot against the carpet.

"I uh… didn't wanna be alone for Christmas. I thought that if you were out and about then we could mess around at the arcade or something. I'm sorry. It was stupid to come. Of course you'd wanna be with your family. I'll just leave." Dani turned to walk out of the room and towards the front door when she saw Danny frown.

"It's a shame the whole family won't be together for Christmas."

Dani paused and looked over her shoulder at Danny. "Huh? You have another sibling or something? I thought Jazz was the only sibling you had and your parents are here."

"A younger sister. She's been gone for a while. I've been worrying about her since she flew away from me and the Huntress, dramatically, I might add. She's really independent, but I'm becoming more and more of an overprotecting and overbearing brother the older I get. Never shoulda bugged Jazz about her tendencies. Her name starts with a-Ooff!" Danny was winded when Dani slammed into him, hugging his neck tightly.

Dani looked up at Maddie and Jack with tears starting to gather in her eyes. "Can I really stay for Christmas?"

Maddie smiled. "How about always, sweetie?"

Jack jumped in quickly. "We Fentons stick together! No man or woman left behind!"

Danielle tensed and Danny smiled at her. "He's a real father. He won't use you. He'll love you and so will Mom. She's not a hologram and Jazz isn't a cat named after my mother."

Jazz frowned with slight irritation, Maddie grimaced with slight revulsion, and Jack frowned in slight sadness.

"Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" Danny asked and noogied her.

"No!" Dani shouted and laughed.

"I'm sure Tucker can forge some kind of birth certificate. Maybe we can say you're some kind of lost cousin from Arkansas or something." Danny smiled and Dani smiled right back before closing her eyes.

"I can't believe I got a family for my Christmas present."

Danny opened his mouth in surprise before a smile adorned his face. He felt her breathing slow in slumber. "She must be tired and it was cold outside. She doesn't have a specific place for shelter."

Maddie sighed. "Poor dear."

"She can sleep in my bed with me until we figure out a room for her," Jazz spoke up.

Danny handed the young girl to his father who lifted her with ease. Danny then smiled and transformed into Phantom.

"Where are you off to?" Maddie asked.

"Dani needs at least a few presents to open for Christmas."

Maddie smiled slowly. "Okay sweetheart. Try to get back soon though. Be careful."

Danny nodded and flew gently through the roof.

"He's getting more and more doting as time goes on," Jazz spoke.

"I guess he's growing up," Maddie smiled before walking out of the room to see if Jack had put Dani to bed.

Jazz frowned wistfully. "Or he's just learn what's important very quickly."

Jazz turned and walked out of the room after taking one last look at the Christmas tree. She spied a few ornaments Danny had made of etco-ice, there. She smiled and walked away.

zzz

"Danny! Danny! Danny! Danny!"

"Uggg…"

"Danny!"

"Five more minutes."

"But it's Christmas morning!" Dani yelled out bounced one more time as hard as she could on Danny's bed. Danny yelped as he was tossed to the floor.

"Okay okay, let's go." Danny chuckled and pulled himself up from the ground. He walked off behind Dani as she darted out of his room and ran down the stairs. Jazz, Maddie, and Jack were already at the bottom of the stairs.

"Morning Danny, Dani," Maddie spoke and nodded to both children.

"Morning mom," Danny replied.

"Morning, Mrs. Fenton."

"It's going to be mom soon sweetie," she glanced up at Danny. "I got the message from Tucker this morning. We'll be having an advocate from an local adoption agency come sometime next week. They've already looked over the documents Tucker made to show she was a cousin from Arkansas that no longer has her parents. The only thing we need is for our family to be deemed adequate for her home."

"How hard can that be!?" Jack bellowed.

Jazz gulped subconsciously and Danny chuckled a bit nervously as well, both siblings glancing at each other swiftly.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Jazz and Danny replied at the same time.

The family then moved into the room holding the tree and presents and began passing some around to each other to open. Dani was watching the family pass the gifts around, contently, when Danny pulled a box from under the tree and placed it in Dani's hands.

"What's this?"

"A present, dur." Danny teased her before resting back on his calves.

Dani blinked in confusion. "But how'd you get them on such short notice…"

"Ghost powers, dur. It takes like a minute to get to the Mall at over a hundred and twenty miles per hour."

Dani smiled brightly and put the present down to hug Danny.

"Thanks Danny… for everything."

The rest of the day went on merrily with Danny calling and saying Merry Christmas to his friends even if Sam celebrated Hanukah. They were all happy to hear Dani in the background.

zzz

If was a couple days after Christmas and the Fentons, plus friends were in the lab, testing some things and watching Danny and Dani practice their powers. After a bit of speed shooting and aerial maneuvers, they both touched down and transformed into their human selves. Dani shivered.

"Is anyone else cold down here?"

Danny raised an eyebrow and looked at Dani's quivering form.

"Huh… I wonder."

Maddie had heard Dani's complaint and turned from her invention to look that the kids.

"What do you wonder, Danny?"

"That was the same way I first started showing the ability to use my Cyrokinesis. I got really cold, colder than normal."

"You mean you think I can use Cyrokinesis like you?" Dani asked.

"Maybe. Perhaps we should go talk to Clockwork again. He explained why I can use both my cores, maybe he can explain more especially if there's major difference between us or not."

Jack immediately ran over excitedly. "Can we take a family field trip to the Ghost Zone?"

"How could that go wrong?" Jazz asked sarcastically.

Danny looked at his parents and smiled. "Well so long as you do what I say, okay? There are rules."

"Not Walker's though."

"No definitely not Walker's."

With that, everyone climbed into the Spector Speeder and was ready to head off to Clockwork's tower.

zzz

"It seems I'm getting more and more visitors the older I get. I'm not that interesting, am I?" The old ghost asked once everyone was in the room. He had a mischievous smile on his face when he spoke.

"Of course Clockwork! I mean your library and your knowledge of time," Jazz spouted.

Clockwork chuckled at the response. He glanced only briefly at Jack and Maddie, who were staring at him in stunned silence. He smiled and turned away to get something.

Danny laughed and looked over his shoulder at his parents. "That means he likes you."

"Very funny, Daniel."

Clockwork turned back around with a book that looked very familiar to Sam.

"Hey wait, that book's the one I picked up in Frostbite's library."

"Indeed it is Samantha. Do you remember what you learned from it?"

"That ghost cores are the same strength always as soon as they are created and a more powerful ghost can consume another's core if they overshadow the other ghost."

"That's correct."

"What does that have to do with me?" Dani asked. "I mean, you do know why we're here. Danny said you know everything."

"Daniel is correct. Father Time knows all."

Everyone turned and saw Hakan float into the room.

"Hakan! It's good to see you again," Danny nodded.

"And you as well, spirit of limbo."

"Spirit of Limbo?" Dani asked and gave Danny a funny look.

"You seem to have a pest problem on your hands, Clockwork. They're multiplying."

Dani frowned and Jack growled. "What was that, spook?"

Danny got anxious and jumped in front of his father. "Wait dad, I know he's kinda a jerk but he is just that way. It doesn't bother me… much."

Clockwork nodded and looked at Hakan. "My friend, you will need to learn and try to drop your conceptions of these children and their gifts."

"Very well." Hakan nodded.

Clockwork nodded to Jack who seemed visibly calmer.

"Back to the issue at hand. Being what abilities Dani may or may not have of Daniel's. The truth behind Dani's birth is a bit more complicated than a simple clone. If she was a perfect clone then she'd be male, Danny's age, and have every single power he has or could obtain at her disposal. However, she isn't. Vlad didn't think to use the mid-morph DNA during conception of the clone until after Dani. If that last clone had been completed he indeed would've had the perfect clone. Instead he used only Daniel's ghost DNA to make Dani, but he needed mid-morph DNA or some human component to stabilize it. He ultimately took human DNA from Daniel and altered it enough to make a semi-stable clone. A strange sort of apomixis allowed her to form and she became a _she_, primarily because Vlad mixed his samples on accident and used two X chromosomes instead of one X and one Y. He used her because she was the only one to stay together. From there the clone, Dani, grew until she started to die. That's where the ghost DNA came in. It kept her from dying because her body didn't need as much as a normal human body does, but the two halves forced together weren't stable, as you are aware, Dani. The mid-morph DNA at that stage would've only stabilized you in a different way opposed to the Ecto-dejecto. You were too far developed to receive the benefits of being Daniel's perfect clone. So you are half as powerful as Daniel, because you only received half of his core, the other half would've been only obtainable to you from the mid-morph sequence if you'd received it earlier in development. You only have access to his cold core. Daniel is the only one of the two of you who has access to his hot core. In short, you're essentially a perfect female human clone of Daniel, but not a perfect female half-ghost clone of Daniel."

"So I can only learn half of the things he will eventually?" Dani asked.

Clockwork nodded. "Only those supported by a cold core. No fire, no lightning."

"Wait, lightning?" Danny asked.

Clockwork paused. "And this is the second thing that must be discussed. Daniel, your core is very special. Not only is it a core of a Halfa, but it is an exceptionally powerful core. Tell me, how did Vlad receive his powers?"

"A portal exploded on his face."

"And Dani?"

"I guess an injection or something to her uh… this is weird… her zygote while Vlad was making her."

"And you?"

Danny paused.

"I got electrocuted by the big portal."

"And?"

"And what?"

Clockwork nodded. "You see Daniel, you weren't just shocked with a bit of ectoplasm or injected with a bit of ectoplasmic material. Your whole body was shocked by the essence of the Ghost Zone itself. Your core is powerful not just because you're growing as a young man and learning how to manage the full power you were given, but because of h_ow_ you received your powers as well. Remember the book? Your core was strong at the very beginning, you've simply been learning how to control all the power inside you. Dan on the other hand, gave up the ability to 'learn' more about his core since he buried his humanity. A ghost's humanity helps them learn about their core's power so to speak… Indeed Daniel, you're also as strong as you are because your human too."

Danny blinked in awe and furrowed his brows, "So I've been stronger than Vlad all this time?"

"Yes."

Danny gulped. "Then when Dan… overshadowed Vlad's ghost half…"

"That was Vlad's interpretation of what happened. He thought his evil had overwhelmed you. He didn't understand the laws that ghost cores follow. Dan received some of Vlad's physical attributes, mostly the alteration of his flaming hair, cape and teeth as reward for consuming Vlad. What you have to understand is trying to split you and your ghost half in half is like playing Russian roulette. You never know what you get. You could get a placid and irresponsible Fenton and a heroic Phantom with his ice core, or…"

Everyone was watching Danny in confusion. They knew vaguely how Dan was created, but that was it.

"A scared and cowardly Fenton… and a bloodthirsty and out of control… Phantom with a hot core." Danny swallowed thickly. "So he basically devoured Vlad?"

"Yes. His rage knew no limit. His obsession was warped and he set out to protect himself instead of others."

Sam put the pieces together. "So let me get this straight. Every time Danny is forced apart from his ghost half in one way or another, you could get two very different personalities from either?"

"You are mostly correct. It's not separate personalities, but simply parts of Daniel amplified."

Danny grew angry. "I have no part of that monster inside me! I'm not bloodthirsty!"

Clockwork frowned. "Maybe not in the context most assign that word, but you are human. You've desired revenge just like any other at one point in time during your life. The more one numbs themselves from their humanity to feed the beast that is hate and revenge the crueler and more malicious they become. Do you recall your time as a slave to Freakshow?"

Danny was trying to keep up with Clockwork jumping topics. "Yeah, well I mean Sam and Tuck told me what I'd done in more detail. It was a bit fuzzy."

"That staff completely numbs the humanity of ghosts and without their humanity present, their freewill is taken. It's an illusion of sorts. The staff fakes the numbing of one's humanity as to lock onto the ghost's core and enslave them to the holder of the staff. However, the staff can not work on humans and very powerful ghosts. You still had access to all of your humanity so you were able to break free from its spell from time to time. Very powerful ghosts are simply able to ignore the illusion because they've balanced their remaining humanity and obsession perfectly or because they are already so full of malice that the illusion doesn't numb their humanity since it's already numb. The point of all this talk is that that numbness you felt under control of the Staff… is what Dan feels always without the puppet master Freakshow there to pull the strings, though he DID make to choice himself to bury what humanity remains. That time is when you, Daniel Fenton, felt what it was like, a tiny taste of what you would be without your humanity and Dan is what you would have become if you ignored your humanity for a prolonged period of time."

Danny looked away with slight shame on his face.

"Do not fret, Daniel. If you were full ghost and so was everyone in Amity, you would've all fallen to the lure of the staff. This bloodthirstiness is not something unique to you alone. It's something all humans and ghosts must wrestle with. As your father said. We all have our demons."

Danny nodded with a slight reassuring smile on his face. Everyone talked a bit longer about things. Danny asked about lightning and Hakan said that lightning takes extreme focus and concentration to use. He said that trying to make his ghost fire into lightning wasn't the best option and instructed that starting with ectoplasm rays while using his hot core would be the best way to try and manifest lightning, since ectoplasm was already plasma of some kind. The fire would simply spark out every time he tried that route. The family and friends then said their goodbyes and left. While they were leaving, Sam saw Danny glance back at Clockwork's tower with a worried and contemplative look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Danny looked at her and sighed. "I hate Dan more than anything, but… Clockwork seems to believe he still has humanity inside him... somewhere." He paused and then went back to talking again. "While under Freakshow's control, I felt so hazy and mad the whole time. I knew I had done bad things and I didn't care at all. I didn't care at all if those policemen died or not when I shot at their cars... and in the moments before... I didn't care if you fel..."

Danny stopped speaking and became silent after that; he turned away from Sam to be with his own thoughts as they neared the Fenton's portal. Sam frowned at Danny in worry. She had always wondered what sort of control Danny had had while under Freakshow's spell. His words indeed made her wonder too.

_How should I scare you?_

zzz

"You're placing seeds of doubt into their minds, why?" Hakan asked.

Clockwork sighed. "Mostly because everyone must always remember that everything isn't as it seems." He glanced over at the thermos which rattled a bit.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're planning, Father Time. With Malus coming…"

"Think of it this way, Hakan. "The balance" isn't just an overarching thing that effects everyone like gravity. "The balance" is multiplied millions and millions of times within the lives and afterlives of everything that is. As your people believed, we are all connected. When someone's balance is shifted in an unsavory way, the threads that connect them to the people they love or know are bent with them. The further they fall, the more strain is put all all the balances and threads at work. To fix what you perceive as the overarching 'balance', I must fix some individuals' balances or at the very least repair _some_ of the strain on the threads, pull then up a bit from their fall. They can either fix the rest on their own or deal. I can't make the world perfect, but I try to patch up the largest holes. Ironically the lives of the Fentons and their friends… have created a good many holes, but they've also opened doors for others' tears to find repair. A give and take. They will help others while I help them and that is why I'm Daniel's guardian and it is also why I do things the way I do."

Hakan shook his head. "I believe I partially understood what you mean, Time-master, but I will put my trust in your abilities instead of trying to fully comprehend." He frowned. "It's just... that monster has no remorse. You could say he is almost completely indifferent to suffering."

"You could almost say the same about me you realize. I must turn my back on suffering often times."

"But you feel bad about it."

"True... but you must also consider that his experiences have taught him to hate the way he does."

"That doesn't excuse him."

"The past is knowledge, the present is action, and the future is hope..." Clockwork nodded before shifting into his child form. "With time things always become clearer."

zzz

**The next day. FentonWorks. Adoption Agency visit.**

"So wait, I'm trying to figure this out. What is the agent looking for?"

Danny was moving around in his room, organizing things the best he could for the visit from the social worker that afternoon. They had fixed up the guest room in their house for Dani's use, since they rarely got any real guests that used it. While they waited for the arrival of the worker, each family member was in charge of their own room of the house to clean. They had securely locked the lab as well. If the social worker ever went down there… they'd probably have Danny removed from the home; Jazz was already legally an adult.

"A nice home environment. They just wants to make sure our home is suitable for your needs."

"Tch, it's like they think I don't have a brain or something. Of course this place suits my needs!"

"I know, it's kinda dumb, but they're just trying to protect you… I guess."

Dani huffed and flopped on Danny's bed. "If they only knew."

"Yep, that sentence just about sums you and me up, huh?"

Dani giggled. Then they both heard Maddie's call. "Come on down! The worker should be here any minute!"

So the Fenton family all converged in the den and sat on the couch awkwardly, waiting for the social worker to come. Jazz looked like she was nervously sweating and Danny kept fidgeting his fingers. _What if they take her away? She__'__ll just run away and come back to us over and over again. What if they take me away? What have we gotten ourselves into?_

-Knock- knock-

Maddie took a breath and moved from the couch. "Coming!" She smiled brightly when she opened the door.

There was a hispanic man at the door in a dark suit. He shifted the papers in his arms and nodded. "Hello Mrs. Fenton."

"Oh, hello, Mr.-"

"Harrison, James W. Harrison."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Harrison. Please, come in."

Maddie escorted the man to the den where his eyes landed on the rest of the Fenton family and finally, Dani.

"Hello Miss Danielle Barnhill."

Dani cocked an eyebrow at the last name and glanced at Danny. He gave her a look that said to go with it.

"Oh, yeah. Hi there."

Mr. Harrison nodded and Maddie helped seat him before seating herself beside Jack once more.

"Hello, Mr. Harrison. I'm Jack Fenton, a pleasure." Jack extended his hand and Mr. Harrison shook firmly.

"A pleasure to me as well." He glanced at Jazz and Danny. "And you must be Jasmine Fenton and Daniel Fenton, correct?"

"Yes sir," Jazz and Danny answered together.

"Good good… Alright then, let's get this started. This case it quite odd. Let's start with what happened, Danielle."

Dani perked up and nodded. She knew this part. "I uh, used to live with my parents off the grid in the Ozarks. They passed on though and I didn't know where to go. After wandering around a while, I remembered I had distant family in Amity Park, so I came here and found the Fentons. They welcomed me with open arms. I love my folk." Dani ended with a tiny smile.

"I see. Have you ever been educated?"

"Yeah, my Ma taught me some." She was trying to add just a few things to her speech to make it seem plausible.

"We'll have to do that evaluation later before trying to place you in the school system, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I want to talk to each of you on your own, then I'll look around the house and we can finish up the paper work if everything checks out."

zzz

**Jack.**

Jack and Mr. Harrison were alone in the den. Jack was on the couch still and remained in the chair across from him.

"So Mr. Fenton, what do you do for a living?"

"Well we _do_ live in Amity Park. Since collage, me and my wife have been studying and hunting ghosts."

"Ghosts?"

"They do exist. For a while we weren't sure, but then they just started popping up more and more. Ask anyone in Amity Park about ghosts. They'll say the same."

Mr. Harrison nodded and scribbled something in his notebook.

"Mr. Fenton tell me about your wife."

The agent saw Jack's face burst into a large smile.

"Maddie is the love of my life. I honestly don't know where I'd be without her. She's wonderful. I don't know what she saw in me."

"And your children?"

He saw Jack's smile get larger and his face glow at the mention of his kids.

"Jazzy-pants is so so smart, Danny-boy too, but her mind's a marvel like her mother's. Danny's got the biggest heart and he's super protective of his friends and family. Jazz has always tried to be protective of Danny too, being the big sister. Dani… Danny loves her already. She's grown attached to him and looks up to him in so many ways. My kids are great and having Dani join would be wonderful. Just the idea of her coming all the way here and finding Danny, we didn't hesitate letting her in our home."

Mr. Harrison had been scribbling the whole time.

"You seem to love your children deeply, Mr. Fenton."

"I love fudge too, but I wouldn't give my life to protect fudge."

Mr. Harrison looked up in confusion at first before understanding crossed his features.

"I understand perfectly, Mr. Fenton. Thank you, please tell Jasmine to come in."

zzz

**Jazz.**

"My dad didn't give you the speech about the log cabin and the war, did he?"

"Uh."

"Good."

Mr. Harrison smiled. "Jasmine-"

"Please call me Jazz."

"Of course, Jazz. Tell me about your parents."

"Oh!" Jazz smiled and clapped her hands together. "You're trying to do a partial psychoanalysis of me by interpreting my descriptions of my parents I give, right?"

"Psych major?"

"Working on a Master hopefully, with a minor in Supernatural Studies."

"So you like ghosts like your parents?"

"At first it was weird and I didn't believe in ghosts, but over time, especially after I learned they were real, I became more interested. I want to study the psychological influence ghosts have on humans and vice versa."

"I see."

"Oh my parents, of course. Mom is a strong independent woman. I've always wanted to be as strong as she is. Dad is a little goofy, but he means well. They're both very good parents though. They love us both so much."

"Your brother had a little streak of rebellion for a couple years recently. I have a few notes about his school's assessment of him."

"My brother had some things bothering him personally, but his friends were helping him until he finally felt comfortable talking to our parents about it." Jazz shifted nervously.

"He didn't feel comfortable talking to his parents?"

"What teenager does? But really it was more a misunderstanding or miscommunication rather than a 'fear' per say." Jazz knew she was mostly lying about that, because Danny had been afraid for his life or half-life, but she couldn't explain all that to Mr. Harrison.

"Oh I see."

"Our family's a bit weird but it's a good one. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Mr. Harrison smiled. "Thank you Jazz. Please retrieve your mother for me."

zzz

**Maddie.**

"So you study and hunt ghosts with your husband, Mrs. Fenton?"

"Behind every strong woman is a strong man."

"Of course. Tell me about your husband."

"Jack is wonderful. He's a bit goofy and clumsy at times but his heart is so kind. He's big and intimidating but he's really a big teddy bear. I love him dearly."

"And your children?"

Maddie's eyes sparkled.

"My children are great. Jazz is so responsible and Danny is so thoughtful. I love them to pieces. They're my whole world. Dani coming now… It's like a blessing really. Jack and I had wanted a third child, but our work had kept us from having one until now. We knew it was meant to be when she came to our door."

"I see. Thank you, bring in Daniel next please."

zzz

**Danny.**

"So uh, my parents didn't weird you out, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Uh, they can be a bit goofy, but they're good parents."

"Daniel-"

"Please, Danny."

"Danny, talk to me about your parents."

"They're great."

"…" Mr. Harrison shifted in his seat. "That's all?"

"Well I mean what more can I say? I love them? They're the best? Uh, They're kind, caring, good role models, uh…"

"I see, that's fine. Now about the last couple years. You were having some trouble in school. Nothing major… except your grades were lower than they had been and you'd been late and even skipping class all together. That's the extent of what I know."

"I just uh… was going through a phase?"

"You don't talk much, huh?"

"Is that a requirement?"

Mr. Harrison laughed. "No no, of course not."

Danny sighed. "I just was confused for a while. I came to my senses though. I realized my parents weren't the bad guys and were just trying to help. I was just being a teenager that wanted to be an adult before I was ready." _Not true at all, but that won__'__t hurt him._

Mr. Harrison glanced down and saw Danny's fingers trembling against his legs.

"Is something wrong?"

Danny flinched slightly and chuckled. "I have some anxiety problems, but that's what family's for. I just worry about Dani. I know if this doesn't go well she won't be happy. She'll run away from her family and come back to us."

"What makes you so sure? It sounds like you know Dani more than it would seem possible since you just met her, being a long lost family member and all."

"Uh… Well. When she first showed up, I didn't mention her to mom or dad. She found me at school. She didn't know at first that we were family, until we slowly started to talk more and more. After we found out we were distantly related, I asked her if she wanted my family as hers and at first she said no. Eventually though, she missed me, so she came in Christmas Eve. I would like having a little sister. She's fun and we like a lot of the same things. My girlfriend and other friends like her a lot too."

Mr. Harrison nodded. "I guess you both really are related by more than just distant blood then, huh?" He smiled.

Danny chuckled. "I guess so." _If only you had any idea how related we are._

"Wonderful. Well thank you Daniel, let's get Dani in here and then I'll take a walk of the house."

zzz

**Dani.**

"Ms. Barnhill."

"Just Dani, please… with an I."

"Ah, of course." Mr. Harrison nodded. "So you traveled all the way from Arkansas to Amity."

"Yeah."

"What made you come to Amity?"

"I was pretty sure I had some family up there, but I didn't know what they looked like."

"I see. What do you think of your prospective family?"

Dani smiled. "I don't know much about Mr and Mrs. Fenton or even Jazz, but they seem very very nice."

"And Danny?"

Dani beamed. "He's the brother I always wanted. He brought me into his home and loved me no matter where I was from or who I was. He's… a life saver. He even went at midnight on Christmas Eve to get presents for me to open on Christmas day. He didn't want me not to have something to open."

"That's very thoughtful of him."

"That's just how he is. He's a good guy."

"What do you think about the Fenton's occupation?"

"Huh?"

"Their job? To hunt and study ghosts?"

"I thought it was a little freaky at first, but really it's cool."

"So you want to be here?"

"Yes."

"You are certain. You weren't being forced to stay or being bribed in any way?"

"No er Yes, I mean, gah what's with the double questions? I want to be here because I like the Fentons a lot."

"Why's that?"

Dani grumbled and yelped out something before she could stop herself. "I don't belong anywhere but here!" She paused when she realized what she'd subconsciously admitted to the worker and more importantly to herself.

Mr. Harrison smiled. "Very well."

zzz

Mr. Harrison looked over the house, seeing that it was clean and nothing was dangerous for Dani's health at her age. He didn't have to worry as if they were adopting a baby, so it wasn't as intrusive. He did ask about the basement and Maddie explained that they did invent things down there, but it was always locked when they were working and they took great pains to keep everything safe and secure.

Mr. Harrison smiled as he was walked to the front door. He turned and faced the family. "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, I'll be expecting you at City Hall tomorrow to fill out some forms and-" He glanced at Dani. "-and you in a few days to do an evaluation for your educational future. But I feel this home and this family will be more than suitable for Dani's new home. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Ms. Danielle Barnhill. Soon you'll be Ms. Danielle Fenton."

Maddie clasped her hands together and hugged Jack, while Danny and Jazz threw and arm over each other and Dani. Dani was staring forward blankly, but no one noticed. She snapped back to reality when Mr. Harrison kneeled.

"I hope this family can help you heal from your loss."

Dani didn't know what he meant at first until she remembered he was meaning her non-existent deceased parents.

"Yeah…" Dani replied and for some reason thought of Vlad. She remembered her parental love she once had felt for him and could see him resting in his large chair. She frowned. "I'm certain they will…" Those visuals in her mind faded away as she spoke.

Mr. Harrison rose and said his parting words to the Fentons before exiting through the front.

"Dani! You're part of our family now!"

"Oh sweetie, welcome."

"Do you mind if I call you Pumpkin? or Princess? What nickname would you like?"

Dani turned and faced her new family with a blank look. Danny frowned and bent slightly to look into her shielded eyes when she glanced at the ground.

"Dani, what's wrong?" Danny paused when he thought he heard sniffling. "Dani?"

He gasped when she leaned forward and hugged him, leaning her body weight on him. He could really hear it now. She was crying.

"I have a real family."

Danny smiled and the other Fentons smiled too when they finally understood.

"A real family…"

**zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**

**The feels are real! Dani's part of the crew!**

**zzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**Randamwriter: When is dani coming?**

**NoSignal: Tada! She's here.**

**Nurse Medusa: Will you write more and do you like cats?**

**NoSignal: Yes and uh... yes? lol.**

**13BlueBananas: Where the heck did you pull 'TheEidolon' from? It sounds vaguely familiar... Huh.**

**NoSignal: Eidolon is a synonym for a specter or phantom. I just added the The in front with no spacing :)**

**Zanza Flux: Did you notice his reaction when Jazz told him she knew about his secret. There was no sarcasm or snark there. He was genuinely surprised. I think something about him changed in that moment. When he knocked her out, instead of leaving her on the floor, he tucked her into her bed. Why would he do that if he really felt nothing but hatred for his family?**

**NoSignal: I do get the feeling that that part in the movie(mini movie) was important. I don't think the writer's of the show did that on accident. Obviously those our mine thoughts on it, but the look of surprise and slight pain on Dan's face when he is pretending to be Danny seemed too real. They could of had him say something like, "Oh really? I suppose you always were the nosy type" or something like that. As for the bed thing, I think he was just trying to make it seem like she'd had a nightmare, but it still is kinda an odd reaction from something that's supposed to be a monster...**

**I find Dan to be a complex character and I like when more thought is put into him than just, death and destruction. I intend to do that. In the show he wasn't much complex than that, but hey... that's what fanfiction's for! *cracks knuckles ready to type more***

**zzzz**

**Thanks to everyone for all their support and such! I appreciate it so greatly. I certainly wasn't expecting the amount of support I've received so quickly. You're all wonderful!**

**~NoSignal**


	11. Frustrations

**And now we get to see Dani at school some :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the wait, I wasn't allowing myself to publish this chapter until I published the next chapter for my pokemon story, since it's been around longer.<strong>

* * *

><p><span><strong>*** Okay Guys, we've finally come to the point where I no longer have any extra chapters. From here on out I have to write the chapters from scratch rather than edit a bit. I'm going to shoot for a chapter every week and a half roughly(since school's back) for the time being. I do have another story I'm working on with the same thing, but it should be alright. I'll inform you guys if school picks up too much and I need a bit more time for chapters. Don't fear though, I have a outline of the story from where we are to the end (I've even written like the last sentences in the story before hand, lol) I'll try to do these regular updates just like I've been doing with my Pokemon stories. ***<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks you all for the support! I hope you enjoy the chapter. :D<strong>

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

_"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson." ~ Tom Bodett_

zzz

"I guess Vlad did a decent job of educating her." Tucker spoke.

"Yeah considering what could've happened. Eighth grade isn't bad for her age." Danny added.

"I've wondered several times if Dash had repeated ninth grade multiple times," Sam spoke.

"Sam, I've known Dash almost as long as Tuck."

"I can dream can't I?"

The three friends were sitting near City Hall a few days after the social worker's visit to the Fenton home. Valerie was working that day at the Nasty Burger and couldn't be there, but told them to tell Dani how proud she was of her. Dani was legally Danny's sister now and she had just gotten her scores back to place her in the educational system. She would be going into eighth grade. Dani was talking excitedly to Danny's parents and sister at the moment.

"I never got to thank you Tuck," Danny spoke up.

"Psh, it's what I do."

"Now Amity just needs to welcome a new Phantom into their lives, if you catch my drift. You know she'll want to be a part of Team Phantom and fight." Sam added.

"Yeah. I imagine she'll be fine. I'll still call her my cousin in Phantom form. I've already talked to her about that. When school starts back up, I'll tell her about what she can and can't do at school. You know, rules with using her powers," Danny replied.

"Right. I guess she'll have to make friends," Tucker spoke.

"I didn't think of that," Danny murmured.

"She'll have us until she finds someone." Sam nodded. "Casper Junior High is nearby. We share the same cafeteria and the picnic area outside for Lunch."

Their talk halted when Dani ran over.

"Danny! I'm going into eighth grade! I was terrified I was going to be put in like second grade with little kids!"

Danny laughed. "They would've simply let you home school until you caught up, but I'm real proud of you Dani. Now there's only a few things left to worry about." Danny glanced up at his parents and sister and gave a silent nod. "Follow me. See ya later Tuck, Sam." He leaned over and kissed Sam briefly.

"Have a safe flight guys and call us if you plan to patrol." Sam responded.

Danny nodded and led Dani away.

zzz

"Always make sure you're well hidden when you transform. Don't use your powers for your own personal advantage. Don't damage too many buildings. Think before you do anything, you never know what kind of hint could rat us out."

Dani frowned and then pouted when they were halfway through the alleyway they'd gone down.

"Geez, now _your_ acting like I don't have a brain."

Danny looked at her and sighed. "Sorry Dani. It's just really important."

Dani smirked and waved her hand. "No probs. I understand. Lead the way, bro." Dani smiled brightly after she'd said that. Then calmed. "Bro when Fenton, Cuz when Phantom."

Danny beamed. He positioned himself. "Ready?"

Dani smirked. "Ready."

"I'm going ghost!" The siblings shouted as bright rings of light formed around their waists and traveled up and down to turn them into their Phantom personas.

"I'm kinda nervous. I've never saved someone with my powers before. It was always just me trying to survive."

Danny smiled a little wistfully. "You saved me once from Vlad."

Dani paused and then smiled bashfully. "Yeah, forgot about that, but that wasn't with my powers I just pushed a release button."

"I didn't forget it though."

"Will they?"

"Some of them, but it's the right thing to do and that's all that matters."

Dani nodded. "Okay then let's zoom around. By the way, love the winter theme you gave Amity."

"Mind if you help me get rid of it when need be?"

"Eh, why not?"

The two siblings then shot into the air and started flying around the city. Dani got nervous as soon as she saw people looking at her in the air and pointing. Danny smiled over at her and held her hand to make her look at him.

"Don't worry about it. They're just curious."

He let go and grinned. "Race ya!" He then shot off at over a hundred and twenty miles per hour.

"Hey! Where are we even racing to? You dork!" Dani laughed and shot off behind him.

The Phantoms were laughing and flipping through the air above Amity, dancing around and dodging many of the icy structures Danny had created. They halted when an icy wisp left their mouths.

"IIII AM THE BOX GHOOOOST! BEWARE MY CUBIC SHAPED BOXES OF DOOOOOM!" The Box Ghost had appeared in front of them and was hunching over and waggling his fingers as he made his entrance.

"Perfect timing. Dani, have you met the Box Ghost?"

"Uh… maybe once?"

"Good good… Let's start your lesson then. Dani, the Box Ghost." Dani looked down and saw the Box Ghost looking between the two Phantoms in confusion. Everyone on the street was watching too. "Box Ghost, Dani."

"Ghost boy. Are you trying. to deceive. me? She can not be Danny. If YOU are Danny." The Box Ghost spoke up.

Dani smirked. "Hello Box Ghost. I'm Dani Phantom. Dani with an I. I want to introduce you to Mr. Thermos." She floated up to reveal Danny floating behind her with the thermos pointed at the specter.

"Noooo! You cannot contain me. In your. cylindrical container!" The Box Ghost yelled out as he was sucked into the thermos. Danny capped the thermos and high-fived Dani as she floated around and around Danny, giggling.

zzz

**A week later. Casper Junior High.**

The holiday break was finally over and school was back in session. Now that it was the beginning of January, the next date on the Fenton and friends' calendar was Danny's upcoming eighteenth birthday. Dani had been given some shopping money for Danny by Maddie or well… her mom, so there was that. She definitely wanted to get something nice for Danny.

At the moment, she was walking through the halls of Casper Junior High, about to start her first day of school, ever. She was wearing one of her newest outfits, which was a light blue hoodie and jeans with her blue sneakers. Her new mom had also taken her shopping as soon as the papers had been accepted and she'd become a Fenton.

She had her books in her arms and was heading towards Earth Science class.

zzz

It was Lunch now and Dani had actually enjoyed the classes she'd had so far. She'd been mostly quiet and not talked to anyone, but her mood brightened when she spotted Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie at their typical table. She started to hurry over with her bag lunch that her mom had packed her.

"Hey Kwan, I just got a Danny Phantom piece from TheEidolon the other day."

"That's awesome, Dash my man."

"Oof!" Dani yelped and fell to her butt when she bumped into Dash on the way there. Her bag struck the ground and tipped, spilling some of her things.

"Watch where you're going, girlie! Dang a stupid middle schooler bumping into me?"

"Leave her alone Dash!"

The cafeteria immediately perked up when they heard Danny's voice. The war between Dash and Danny had always been an interesting one, but recently with Danny's seemingly increasing confidence over the past few months, the war had become vastly more interesting as it didn't appear to be a one sided battle anymore. Danny had been fighting back and not just for himself.

Dash turned and saw Danny and his friends standing behind him and Kwan.

"And why should I do that, Fenturd!?"

Dani's cheeks immediately turned red with anger and she leapt up. "Don't call my brother names! You big creep!" She then kicked Dash in the shin, hard. Dash yelped and took a couple steps back to glare at her.

"The heck! Since when do you have another sister, Fenton?"

"Since over Christmas break. We adopted her. She's distant family from Arkansas. So I'll say it again, leave her alone."

Dash smirked. "So now you've got a hick in your family!"

"Oh yeah!" Dani growled. She pulled back her fist and Dash chuckled. Danny rushed between them.

"No Dani, don't. He isn't worth that, just leave it be. Is your lunch okay?" Danny asked. Dani immediately calmed down and bent to pick up her lunch.

"Yeah, everything's still clean."

"Good. Come on let's sit down." Danny offered. Sam was glaring at Dash with Valerie while Tucker was trying to act somewhat invisible.

"Are you ignoring me, Fenton?"

Dani giggled. "Did you hear something, Danny?"

"Why no Dani, I didn't"

Danny smiled and stood up before putting a hand on Dani's shoulder to walk her over to the table.

"This isn't over, Fenton. You're going to regret messing with me."

Dani whipped her head around to glare at Dash. "Threatening little girls now? How brave of you."

Dash stuttered and then growled. "I meant your geek brother, squirt!" He then turned and marched away with Kwan.

"Good one, Dani." Danny chuckled. Dani smiled brightly and sat at the table with Danny and his friends. She swung her legs as she started to eat her lunch.

"And they actually went along with that?" Sam asked, returning to the talk the group had been having before Dani had arrived.

Danny laughed. "Yeah, we went into the Fright Knight's place and put Christmas decorations all in it. Youngblood found it funnier than Johnny did, until Fright Knight noticed and got really angry."

"What are you talking about?" Dani asked and cocked her head.

Danny smirked. "Me, Youngblood and Johnny played a prank on the Fright Knight. He goes along with the Christmas truce, but he's even more of a scrooge than I was before. He hides in his castle and doesn't talk to anyone. Johnny says it's an ego thing since he's supposed to be Mr. Halloween."

Dani laughed. "He needs to get over that." Danny almost didn't hear her when she spoke under her breath. "Christmas is my favorite holiday… now."

The friends continued to talk and enjoy their time until the warning bell rang. Lancer had been on Lunch watch that day and had almost stepped in when Dash and Danny had raised their voices at each other, but had decided against it. Recently it had seemed that Dash was not as keen on being as physical with Danny and the teacher wasn't sure why. He was glad for it though, since he'd always been suspicious of Dash's explanations of altercations he'd been blamed for in the past. There was often never any proof to support either the bullies' stories or the victims' tales and the school board was often telling the faculty to try and refrain from getting the jocks in _too_ much trouble. Casper didn't have many sports teams and the school didn't want to loose attendance to the games and events due to poor performance without its best players present. The situation at Casper really was a crying shame and Lancer was often disturbed by it, which is why sometime during Danny's Sophomore year, he'd started trying to act more outwardly approachable. Perhaps he couldn't stop the bullying, but he could be there as a shoulder to lean on so to speak.

What was really on Lancer's mind at the moment though was Danny's new young sister. She certainly did look like she was from the family or at least related, though she did have an eery resemblance to Danny in particular. What was really peculiar to Lancer though was that Danny Phantom's cousin had come into town as well according to the news and gossip. Her name was also Dani, spelled with an I. It hadn't been much to think Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom both were named Danny, but it was a strange coincidence that Dani Fenton and Dani Phantom shared the same name as well. What sort of connection was there between the Phantoms and the Fentons? It was really the first time Lancer had thought there was some kind of connection between the living and dead teens other then seeing Tucker and Sam help Phantom at times. He had mostly chalked that up to teens helping the town hero because he was popular. Lancer thought all of these things through, though his train of thought never even went down the road that the Fentons and Phantoms could be one and the same. On the flip side, he did start to wonder if the connection he was theorizing about had something to do with why Danny's behavior had changed way back in Freshman year. The possible connection was just another mystery the teacher swore to figure out.

zzz

Dani ran through the halls to get her things for last class. As she turned a corner to get to her locker, she almost bumped into a young man with a head of white hair.

"Whoa, Danny! What are you doing here?" She spouted before even looking more carefully.

"Danny? Uh, my name's Ashton, but Ash is fine."

Dani looked up and blinked in confusion. Indeed, the young man wasn't Danny in Phantom form. He was only a half a head taller than her and would reach Danny's chin with his height. He had hazel eyes, an army green t-shirt with a black stripe at the bottom of it, jeans, and brown sneakers, but the thing that was hard to not look at was his white hair.

He shifted nervously under her gaze. He knew what she was looking at. He sighed. "Yes it's my natural hair color. I used to have really nice dark brown hair, but I have achromotrichia. My hair started to grey when I was ten."

Dani looked at his face and smiled. "It's like snow, pure snow."

Ash's face seemed surprised. "You don't think I look like an old man or that I'm trying to copy Danny Phantom or something?"

Dani had to hold back a giggle at the thought of someone trying to pose as her brother. "No, I trust you. If you say you have ache-motrsha-"

"Achromotrichia."

"Right, that, then I believe ya. Besides, white hair's pretty unique."

Ash grinned. "You never told me your name."

"Danielle, but everyone calls me Dani with an I."

Ash opened his mouth to speak when the final bell rang. Both kids whipped their heads around.

"Dang it! I'm going to be late!" They yelled out at the same time and started to run. After a moment they realized they were running the same way.

"You have English with Mrs. Bethany?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, you?"

"Yep, sweet."

The two students made their way to class and weren't late enough to get a detention, especially since Dani allowed Ash to say he was showing the new student around. They sat down next to each other for class.

It was halfway through class that Dani felt a cold breath of air fly from her throat. She glanced out the window and saw Danny fly past after getting blasted by… a missile from Skulker. Mrs. Bethany and the students all gasped as she ushered them away. The new ghost alarms for the school, started to blare. After all the ghost activity around the school the last few years and especially after the strange accounts from the campers and people that went to Eerie, though most said their memories were simply nightmares, the school board had decided to commission the Fentons to set up a ghost alarm system in the school. It had been completed over the winter break. Maddie and Jack had been unable to have the alarm not trip from Danny or Dani's ecto-signatures; the good news was that it only tripped for them when they transformed into their ghost forms. Dani didn't get the chance to slip away before everyone from Casper High and Casper Junior High was herded into the gym. She spotted Sam, Tucker, and Valerie talking to each other quietly. Dani jogged over to them and Ash followed cautiously behind.

"Sam!" Dani called out.

Sam and the others looked over and saw Dani jogging towards them with a stranger behind her.

"What happened?" Dani asked. She saw Sam glance behind her and Dani turned to see Ash standing there awkwardly.

"Uh, sorry. Do you want me to go?" Ash asked.

Dani bit her lip and looked around. "I uh, need to go to the little girl's room. Stay with them. I'll be back soon." She then darted off.

"But they won't let you!" Ash called out and scratched his head.

"She's pretty good at sneaking by," Sam spoke up.

Ash turned and looked at the three people he had been left with. "How does she know you guys aways?"

"We're her big brother's friends." Tucker answered as he typed on his PDA, unbeknownst to Ash, trying to hack into Skulker's mainframe. Valerie was watching him work closely.

"Oh. Where is he?"

Tucker stuttered. "He uh also went to the bathroom?"

Sam facepalmed.

"But there are ghosts out there!"

"Phantom's got this. The school does this so they won't get sued or something." Sam expressed.

Tucker looked up from his PDA after cursing and whispering something to Valerie. He turned back to Ash, changing his demeanor from frustrated to mischievous.

"So, you showing Dani around the school? Why's that?"

Ash cocked his head. "Uh, well she didn't make fun of my hair, so that's a plus."

"I mean… no other reason?" Tucker asked.

Sam glanced over at Tucker in suspicion while Valerie did the same.

"What do you…" Ash's cheeks suddenly got pink. "Wait! No, you've got the wrong idea!"

Valerie rolled her eyes and pulled Tucker's beret down over the techno geek's eyes.

"Ignore him." Sam grumbled before glancing out the window of the gym, where the sky was showing, with slight worry.

zzz

Dani phased out of the girl's bathroom to get outside of the school, only to see Danny locked hand to hand with Skulker in midair.

"This is much better Ghost Child. _This_ is a thrilling hunt!"

"Geez, can't you make up your mind, Skulker?" Danny snapped back.

Dani grunted and shot forward, slinging an ecto-disc of energy at Skulker. He shouted in pain and shoved Danny away, to turn and see who'd attacked.

"Who dares interfere with Skulker during the hunt?"

"I do, bonehead!" Dani retorted. Skulker saw her floating in front of him with her white hair drifting slightly and her eyes and fists glowing green.

"Your that clone. The clone Plasmius made. So there are three halfas. I guess that means I need to collect every one of you, eventually." Skulker finished with a predatory smile.

"Over my dead body!" Danny growled.

Skulker smirked. "Isn't that the point?"

Skulker aimed one arm at Danny and one at Dani and fired two separate rockets. They darted away to dodge the rockets, only for them to follow.

_Dani!_

_Whoa, Danny is that you?_

_Yeah, listen. We need to fly at each other._

_Are you nuts? We'll blow each other both to smithereens!_

_Not if we turn at the same time._

_Oh playing chicken with rockets?_

_Yep._

_Gotcha, let's go!_

Danny shut off the communication and spun to start flying towards Dani as she did the same. At the last minute, Danny banked left and Dani banked right and the rockets crashed into each other. Dani yelped when a bit of shrapnel cut through the back of her thigh. Skulker reacted quickly to her distress and fired a net at her. She screamed when it wrapped around her and she started to fall.

During this time, Dash and most of the other kids in Casper had opened the gym doors to the outside to watch the battle, despite all the teachers trying to stop them. Both students and teachers were distracted from their struggle when the new Phantom girl started to fall.

Before Dani had been hit, the Fentons had pulled up in their RV; Jazz was with them since her break from collage wasn't quite over. Unfortunately, the Guys in White also pulled up and reacted quicker than the Fentons.

"Just as we thought. Phantom! Stand down, you wicked monster!" Agent K shouted and shot a gun at Danny. Two tethers of ghost-proof rope wrapped around his wrists and yanked him to the ground. Dani hit the earth moments after.

"You take care of entity number two, Agent O," Agent K spoke.

"Understood." Agent O walked forward and pointed a different kind of weapon at Dani. She was groaning and just snapping out of her daze from the fall. She saw the gun pointed at her and panicked. She started crawling backwards, away from the Agent the best she could with the net still around her, but flinched in pain when some ectoplasm poured from the wound on her leg.

"Stay away from my cousin!" Danny shouted and pulled against the bindings, making Agent K use all his strength to restrain him. Ultimately he had to use a certain retractable spear modification to also anchor the gun into the ground to pull against Danny and his tethers.

Skulker was a bit aggravated and unnerved by the Agents' intrusion but continued at a distance to try and hunt, though he wasn't happy with the Agents 'aiding' his endeavors, even indirectly so.

"Stop struggling, ghost!" Agent K growled.

Danny could hear the other weapon Agent O had charging up. His other family had decided to intervene then, but they'd made the decision a bit too late and Danny knew it. He screamed in pain when Skulker's electro-dart found itself in his right shoulder blade. Electricity rippled across his body and he caught another glimpse of Dani and Agent O out of the corner of his eye. The clone and her origin's eyes locked for a single heartbeat.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks when Danny's screaming turned into a furious howl of rage. His eyes slowly started to turn red in the irises with threads of crimson reaching towards the pupils, his canines became slightly more pointed but not larger, his hair started to become less material and almost flame like, though keeping the same shape, and the white parts of his HAZMAT suit started to dim in brightness and almost fade to a darker grey. The bindings on his wrists snapped and the dart in his back exploded and fell out. Skulker realized he needed to leave since everything had gone south for his chance at a fair hunt and so he darted off using his jetpack. The Ghost boy in that state wouldn't be a challenge, hunt wise; it would go against his desire to hunt more human like entities with higher intellect. The Ghost boy was no better than an animal at the moment. At least earlier he'd gotten Technus to increase the defenses in his robotic body so it was harder for the Foley child to interfere in the future. The day wasn't wasted for him.

Danny shot forward like a rocket, coated in flames. He was in front of the gun aimed at Dani when it fired. It wasn't their best weapon so it merely burned his stomach and the suit there, hardly hurting him. Agent O gasped in surprise and slight fear.

Danny paused and made his irises and pupils grow smaller in anger. A hiss passed by his lips, showing off the forked tongue in his mouth. "Don't come any closer. I'm protecting my cousin. If you threaten her safety… I will attack." Those who knew Phantom was Fenton, flinched at the small wicked smile that came to his face as though he hoped they would actually attack.

"You all are ecto-plasmic scum that must be destroyed." Agent O aimed his weapon at Danny's chest after jumping and backing up a few yards when he'd been surprised by Danny's new appearance.

Danny growled. "Bad mistake." He suddenly split into four copies of himself, two facing Agent O and two facing Agent K, still protectively guarding Dani, who was looking at her wound on her leg now that she had pulled herself out of the net.

The two facing Agent K hissed as one drew on its cold core and the second on it's hot core. They unleashed fire and ice each upon him. Agent K dodged and rolled before running over to take a position by his partner.

The two copies that had been facing Agent K turned and all four Dannys focused on both Agents now.

"Turn back… I'm… warning you." The agents didn't seem to notice Danny's eyes pulsing between majorly red and green branching colors in his irises.

Sam jumped out from the crowd. "You idiots! He's trying to not hurt you! Don't push him more than you have!"

"Seriously guys! He's having trouble NOT hurting you!" Tucker yelled out and grit his teeth.

Agent K completely ignored them both and fired a blast of energy from his newest gun he'd pulled out, which was more powerful. It struck one of the copies, luckily for him, hitting the original. The blast struck Danny's left shoulder and forced him back a step. He howled in pain before he turned back to face the Agents. His suit was torn down to where his heart was, showing a, to most, strangely fleshy colored shoulder and upper chest on that side. Ghosts shouldn't look that human, should they? Danny pulled all his duplicates back to himself as glowing green ectoplasm dripped down his front.

"Once entity one is down, move forward to exterminate the ectoplasmic entity two." Agent K spoke.

"Affirmative." Agent O replied.

Danny snapped. His eyes, even his pupils and sclera, glowed red fully and his once human fingers morphed slightly to look almost like claws. If he had been in control, he would've felt the access to his cold core get blocked off temporarily in this state. He launched himself at the Agents with an animalistic fury, ignoring any threat that could come to his human side should he be struck while heading towards them.

What everyone heard in their minds at that moment, no one would dare mention aloud. Whispers of a young man's voice, to most there, sounding familiar and to only a few knowing why that was.

_DEstRoy… HuRT… HAtE Me. WhY? HeLp. PAiN. CoUSiN… FriENdS. HOmE… AmITy… HuMAn… GHOst… PleASe dOn'T hATe mE…_

At the last moment, Dani gave a cry of pain and effort and launched herself from the ground, locking her arms around Danny's arms and chest. Fortunately, she was able to knock him down, dodging the blasts that flew past where he'd been.

"Stop! Danny please stop!" Dani cried out. "You'll hate yourself if you hurt them, don't! Cool down! Don't let your hot core burn out of control!"

Danny thrashed under her as the Agents patiently waited for their guns to charge back up. Dani was having to use every ounce of her strength to hold him even if she could only do it for a few more moments. Then she felt it. A rumbling in his chest almost more like a vibrating chord of a guitar. He was glaring at the agents and she felt him take a deep breath.

"MOVE!" Dani shouted as loud as she could.

Jack and Maddie went into action immediately and yanked the Agents out of the line of fire. They and Sam and Tucker shouted for everyone to cover their ears as Danny's Ghostly Wail burst from his lungs and started echoing in the air, filling the area around them with a sad, sorrowful and angry sound. The concrete where the agents had been, broke and buckled and several windows in the buildings nearby shattered. Some people started to cry due to the emotion in the attack while others were grinding their teeth in pain. When the sounds quieted down and the attack slowly ended, Danny was still trying to break out of Dani's grasp. Then a moment of quiet later, everyone started to get up or out from behind their hiding places. Danny stopped moving and let out a large exhale and some swore they heard a whimper. His hair became more tangible and his canines were no longer prominent; his tongue, suit and fingers slowly morphed back to normal. He opened his green eyes and immediately saw the destruction in front of him.

"Don't worry you didn't hurt anyone. I didn't let cha cuz." Dani was sitting behind him.

Danny looked at her and then glanced at the ground now that he was standing on. He glanced around at the busted windows, broken concrete and fear in peoples' faces. Finally, he looked up at everyone who was staring at him. The agents were getting up and trying to dust off their white suits. "I'm sorry…" He seemed to almost tear up before he then faded from sight. They saw Dani sigh sadly and fade from view as well.

Agent K spoke into his communicator. "Assignment, failed. Returning to base."

Maddie Fenton was staring at the two men with a very uncommon scowl on her face. She couldn't stop thinking how these two men had pushed her boy so far as to loose control for a bit. Skulker had started it, but the ghost had been wise enough to back off, while these men hadn't. It was almost like they were looking for trouble.

Both parents were also looking at the destruction that their son's Wail had caused. They'd seen it a few times since they'd learned his secret, but only in the Ghost Zone. To see it used on human materials and see the destruction afterwards... was different.

The agents soon drove away in their own vehicle, leaving Amity to clean up the mess they'd indirectly caused.

zzz

Danny and Dani had come back for the last five minutes of the last class of the day. They hadn't missed much since there was only ten minutes left after the ghost attack. Danny had given Dani something to wrap her leg wound with until they could get home and he'd dressed his shoulder and stomach.

Dani got to say goodbye to Ash for the day before following Danny and his friends to get home. Danny was very silent, while Sam was trying to comfort him about his outburst. It turned out that with the low amount of ghost issues, he hadn't been meditating much because he hadn't been stressed. He'd fed his hot core with rage like Hakan had warned against. From that day on, Danny swore to keep on the ball about his meditating.

Danny and Dani split up from Danny's friends to go home after that and Danny was surprised at how calm his parents were about seeing him like he'd been. Jack smiled sadly at his son and Maddie kept hugging him and telling him he'd done nothing wrong. They both smiled when they learned there was something he could do to minimize the chance of that happening again. Danny and Dani both got their wounds treated better before the family settled down for dinner.

Dani fell asleep before her head hit the pillow that night. What a tiring first day of school.

zzz

**Danny's birthday. The Mall.**

Danny's birthday had finally rolled around. He was lucky to have it fall on a Saturday so he invited his friends to hang out at the Mall and mess around in the arcade and food court. Dani, Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Mikey, Brandon, Norman, and Lester ended up coming and the group went about talking and playing different games in the arcade.

At the moment, practically everyone was watching a match of Zombie Fighter Five happen between Danny and Sam. The others were shouting and encouraging them both until Sam was able to squeak by and land the last hit.

"Ah man!" Danny exclaimed and Sam cheered in victory. Danny laughed and grinned at Sam. "How is it that you manage to do everything so well?"

Sam smirked, trying to hide the slight blush that came to her cheeks. "I have my ways."

The crew eventually took a break from the arcade and had something to eat in the food court. Danny received his presents from his friends and sister while they were there which consisted mostly of some video games and CDs. It was there though that things took a turn for the worst, because Dash, Kwan, Paulina, Star, Megan, Tyson, and Alroy all were walking about the Mall and spotted Danny and his friends from a floor above.

"Hey look, Dash. It's Fenton," Alroy spoke up and everyone looked over the railing.

"Tch, what are all the geeks and nerds doing together, having a convention?" Megan asked.

Kwan perked up. "Wait, isn't today Fenton's birthday?"

Dash snapped his head over to look at Kwan as a cruel smile crept onto his face. "Oh this is perfect. This is my chance."

"What is it, man?" Tyson asked.

"What better day to get revenge on a dude, than the guy's birthday when all his friends are there?" Dash questioned.

Paulina smiled. She looked down at her nails. "Do it. Whatever it takes."

Megan smiled and the jocks all grinned at each other. Star was staring down at Danny and the others with a frown on her face. Kwan glanced over and saw her and wasn't grinning anymore.

"Okay, huddle up guys, here's the plan." Dash motioned and all four jocks huddled together and the girls found seats to watch whatever was to come.

Danny and his friends were walking past the fountain when it happened. Oh if only Danny had a human sense too.

"Wait wait, now you're saying the turkey came to life?" Mikey asked. Brandon's eyes were wide in awe while Mikey and Norman seemed more skeptical.

"It kinda happens a lot with all the ectoplasm my parents work with. Dad kinda forgets which things go in which fridge. It's fine though, I-" Whatever Danny was going to say was cut off as Dash suddenly jumped out from beside the fountain and wrapped both his arms around Danny's arms and chest, crushing him and keeping him from moving. Danny's group halted in shock.

Kwan snatched a nearby bucket that a Janitor had been in the middle of using and tossed it to Tyson who flipped it and slammed it over Danny's head, spilling filthy water all over him. Dash then squatted quickly and pantsed Danny before shoving him towards the fountain. Alroy was there and held out his leg causing Danny to trip over it and face plant into the water.

The bucket came off as Danny resurfaced. Dash grabbed the back of his head by his hair.

"Told you, you'd regret it, Fenton!" Dash then laughed and kicked Danny in the back, forcing him to dunk into the water a second time. The jocks then walked off laughing. It wasn't until they were gone and Danny had stumbled out of the fountain, with blood pouring from his nose that the others were able to snap from their shock.

Sam rushed forward as Danny finished pulling up his wet jeans. "Danny, God! Are you okay?"

Danny tried to wipe under his nose and noticed he was bleeding there. It must've happened when his nose had slammed into the bucket and the floor of the fountain. He glanced up at Sam with a slightly irritated look on his face.

"Sorry, standard question." Sam reached him and pulled a hanky from her spider bag.

"Sham, I myghht get youwr hanky dwirty." Danny mumbled out with his injured nose.

"Danny it's fine."

Danny nodded and started to try and stop the blood.

"They're barbarians is what they are." Norman muttered.

"I cannot believe this!" Valerie cried out in anger.

Tucker was standing at Danny's other side. "Sorry I didn't film it or anything, dude."

Brandon was glancing at the ground with slight shame, thinking that Dash had become so much harder on Danny because of him. Mikey was shaking his head sadly and Lester was frowning.

"Hey where's Dani?" Valerie asked suddenly.

Danny looked up from the hanky and scanned the area, making some blood ooze out of his nose again. "Dani? Swhit. She's gowing to follow thewm."

Tucker rose his eyebrow in amusement. "Now that, I wish I could record."

Valerie shook her head. "I'll go get her. Sam you make him sit. He'll be dizzy from a nose bleed like that."

She walked off as the rest sat down to help Danny, who was still dirty, wet, and bleeding. The old Janitor walked up, the only random bystander that hadn't moved on or had the courage in the first place to even do or say anything.

"Are you alright, son? That was a nasty trick those boys pulled."

Danny glanced up at the man and nodded. His nose wasn't as clogged anymore since his enhanced healing had started to work. "More of a damaged pride than anything."

The Janitor smiled and looked at Sam. "You've got one with good character here missy."

Sam squeezed Danny's arm to make him looked down at her. "I know."

zzz

Dani slunk through the people passing her by. She was sneakily trying to chase after Dash and his goons and do… well she wasn't sure, but something. She saw them meet up with a few girls and two of them actually laughed about Danny's experience. They had been watching it like a funny cartoon!

Dani growled from where she was watching them, behind a planter. She started thinking about what she could do for pay back when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Danny wants you. Leave them be. They really aren't worth it. They've never done something like this, but still come back to Danny. He needs you. Don't give _them_ your time." Dani watched the jocks and girls walk away and turned to glare up at Valerie's face.

"So we do nothing? That's not fair!" Dani snapped.

Valerie frowned. "No. It's not."

"Who's side are you on!? You should be helping me!"

Valerie's face turned angry. "Don't you think I want to? If I could, I'd beat every one of their butts into next Tuesday!" She relaxed. "But I've realized, mostly through Danny and his close friends that things aren't only about revenge… or settling a score. We have responsibilities that are more important than getting back at those jerks."

Dani frowned and slowly nodded. She then took off running back towards Danny with Valerie walking quickly behind. Danny almost didn't get to react when Dani hugged him tight.

"Nice job." Tucker spoke to Valerie. She glanced at him and smiled, before he grabbed her hand gently. The action actually caused Valerie to blush which in turn made Tucker's cheeks, pink. Sam glanced over at Tucker with a teasing smirk on her face and he scowled at her. Lester was glancing over at Valerie and Tucker with a small frown on his face. It had been rumored that Tucker and Valerie had been more chummy than normal and now Lester could see it was true.

"You're okay, right Danny?" Dani mumbled into Danny's shoulder.

He paused and placed a hand on her back and rubbed it. "Yeah, Dani. I'm just fine. I don't get as mad about it like I used to."

"You just tell me if you want me to kick their butts." Danny chuckled at her.

"I'll keep that in mind, sis."

The group of teens started on their way home then. The sun was already down when Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Dani walked inside FentonWorks. Maddie came to the door with a smile on her face but halted when she saw how damp Danny still was and the dried bits of blood under his nose.

"Danny!" Maddie cried out and move forward. "What happened, sweetheart?"

"Dash happened!" Dani growled out she shook her head and ran past Maddie to get up to her room.

"Is Dani okay?" Jazz asked, popping her head out of the kitchen. She saw Danny then. "Danny! What ghost was it this time?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Dash is no ghost, but I'm starting to wonder if he's human." Sam smirked. Danny looked at his sister and mother. "Dani's just dealing with the idea that she can't go beat him up for me. She's never had to control herself like this before."

Maddie nodded and ushered Danny closer. She then nodded to Sam and Tucker. "Be safe walking home you two. Thanks for being such good friends to my boy, actually, to all my kids."

Danny rolled his eyes but smiled against his will, while Sam and Tucker say goodbye and left.

"Danny, how long has Dash been bullying you?" Maddie asked quietly.

"Since I think middle school, why?"

"Haven't you ever said something to your teachers?"

"Yeah, but Dash is their star quarterback, they won't do anything to him unless he like broke my leg or something. Besides it's pretty much impossible for him to hurt me anymore."

Jazz stepped closer. "Physically, yes, mentally? He can still hurt you Danny."

Danny laughed a bit bitterly and shook his head. "Mental attacks? Dash doesn't have a clue about what that kind of… pain is like."

Jazz sat on the other side of Danny once he was seated on the couch, while Maddie got up to go and get something to wipe Danny's face with.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Danny, is there something you're still not telling us? Something that's a real battle your in the midst of."

Danny paused and looked up at her before he shook his head slowly.

"We… we heard it you know?"

Danny stiffened. "Heard… what?"

"When you lost control the other day. I think the inhibitions of your telepathic powers wore down. I'm pretty certain everyone could hear your thoughts. You didn't reveal anything about Fenton… just that Phantom has a lot of stuff on his mind."

Danny quivered slightly and as his mother returned from the kitchen and reached to help wipe his face. Danny flinched away, going intangible at the same time. He got up, went invisible too and spoke. "I'm just going to take a shower, thanks anyways, mom."

After a moment, he was gone.

"What do you think is bothering him, Jazz?" Maddie asked.

Jazz shook her head. "Something bad. He's pretty open with Sam and Tucker and even they didn't have a clue when I asked them not too long ago. But my best guess is it has something to do with Dan Phantom. I don't know what though… He didn't see himself when he lost control so he wouldn't know that he _almost_ looked…"

Maddie noticed her eldest daughter pause. The mother asked Jazz something she'd been wondering. "Jazz?"

"Yeah mom?"

"Has Danny ever looked like that before? You know... the red eyes... the claws and tongue?" Maddie subconsciously rubbed her hands together. She wouldn't tell her son that his appearance had scared her, since she and Jack had wanted to do anything they could to not push Danny away ever again.

"Actually... I don't think so. Maybe it has something to do with his hot core being built upon..."

"Hakan told him that rage can do that, right?"

"Recently, I guess Danny's been mostly balanced emotionally... other than being stressed about protecting everyone and being a teenager at the same time. Telling you guys helped him a lot. Meditation can help like Hakan mentioned..." Jazz frowned in thought and Maddie could practically see the gears turning in her daughter's head.

"Jazz?"

"Mmmm... maybe..." Jazz glanced up at her mother. "Clockwork told Danny that he can still turn evil, just like anyone. Maybe... that's what Danny would become, what he'd look like, if he fed into his anger for too long. My theory is that ghosts are very similar to humans emotionally, but because they actually are partially formed from the energy that make up emotions, they actually visually change based on the emotions they fuel themselves with. Some can change form quickly using this kind of manipulation, while others do it slowly over time or spontaneously."

Maddie smiled brightly at her daughter's deductive abilities. "That is certainly an interesting theory and it makes sense."

Jazz smiled slightly and nodded. "I mean I'm studying psychology so I have to contemplate these kinds of things in regards to ghosts and humans both. It's funny. The more I've learned about ghosts through Danny and experience the less different they really seem from humans. They're anatomy is quite different, minus Halfas, but in almost every other way, they mirror humans and actually blatantly show truths about mankind itself and the way we treat each other. It spirals into a vastly complicated ethical talk." Jazz flinched and laughed nervously. "I'm babbling aren't I?"

"That's fine sweetie. I mean I'm certain me and your father have done more than our fair share." Maddie smiled and placed her hand on Jazz's. She paused and realized something. "Jazz?"

"What mom?"

"What does Dan Phantom even look like? I don't think Danny told me and your father."

Jazz perked up in surprise. "Really?" She furrowed her brows in thought. "Why would he not mention that? It would be kinda important if _somehow_ he escaped or something. He's a very dangerous ghost."

Maddie frowned. "How odd."

Jazz sighed and glanced at her mom. "I think that might be a clue behind what's bothering him. He's knows he lost control. Maybe... for some reason... he hasn't been fully honest with us about Dan."

"Why not?"

"I don't know for sure. Just the fact that he didn't mention to you what Dan looked like. I'm sensing a bit of shame from those actions. He still feels responsible. He feels guilt."

"Should we sit him down? Should we try and help him talk it out?"

Jazz ran a hand through her hair. "At this point it could be risky. His psyche would either cause him to break down and tell us or he might isolate himself further if he decides in his mind that there's some fear or distrust coming from us. It would probably be best to wait some. Maybe... with time, he'll tell us. Only if it gets really bad should we try and fully intervene."

"I don't like waiting around while my baby boy is hurting inside at all."

"I know mom. I know."

Maddie patted her daughter on the shoulder and the two sat in silence after that.

zzz

Danny was sitting on his bed, rubbing his head dry with a towel. He'd just gotten cleaned up and his nose was still a bit sore. He tossed the towel into his hamper and laid on his bed. A wisp of cold air came from his mouth and he tensed before transforming and looking around. He knew his parents had deactivated the ghost monitors in the house until they could figure out a way to filter out his and Dani's signature when they transformed in Fenton Works.

"Danny?"

Danny looked around and found himself face to face with Sidney Poindexter.

"Sydney? Why are you here?" Danny then asked suspiciously. He was surprised to see Sidney look down sadly. "Oh, well."

"Ah ha!"

"Oof!"

Danny blinked when he saw Dani on top of Sidney in her Phantom form.

"I got him Danny! Get the thermos!"

Danny picked up his sister carefully by the back of her suit. "Let's see what he has to say first. You interrupted him, sis."

Dani blinked. "Oh oops."

Sidney glanced between the two Phantoms before he sighed and sat up.

"I saw what those kids did to you, Danny. You were right, they were the bullies. I didn't realize…"

Danny smiled sadly and shook his head. "It… it doesn't matter. I don't need to fight back anymore. I've forgotten all those feelings of needing those people to like me or something. A bloody nose doesn't hurt."

Dani frowned. "Dash needs to get a another hobby instead of continuing to torture you! It's not fair. You may be a hero but hero's can hurt too, bro!"

Danny smirked and rubbed his sister's hair on her head. "I'm not so sure anymore. Sidney was right to punish me then… I don't want to be the kind of person, not now, not ever. I don't want to be that monster that protected you the other day."

Dani growled and grabbed the front of Danny's suit. "Shut up! You're not a monster! A monster wouldn't have protected me. A monster would've killed those agents and laughed, not warned them several times to go away. A monster's roar isn't filled with sorrow, fear, and so little anger! Danny you're a hero. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Period."

Danny hugged Dani close. "And I would've killed them trying to keep you safe. Period. So thank you so much sis."

Sidney frowned. "You've been even protecting your own bullies."

Danny looked Poindexter in the eyes. "Yeah, you just kinda caught me on an off day."

Sidney nodded. "Well that's why I came. I suppose wanted to say I was sorry. I was also wanting to extend-"

"GHOST! Don't worry kids, daddy's coming!"

Jack burst through Danny's door with Maddie right behind him. "We heard a couple yells, are you kids okay?"

"Gotcha, spook!" Jack barked and pointed a bazooka at Sydney.

"Wait dad!" Danny yelped and jumped in front of Sydney. Sydney's eyes widened both from Danny's act to protect him and also when Jack started to lower his gun.

"A friend, Danno?"

Danny smirked. "Now he is." He glanced over his shoulder at Sydney, who smiled.

"Hot dog! Absotively-posolutely! You're parents know that your the-?"

"The Halfa, yeah. They know about Dani too, hence- me calling her sis."

Sydney sighed. "Phew now maybe we can try and be more civilized, hm?"

Danny looked at Sydney with a deadpan look on his face.

"Well a good portion of us at least."

"My parents are learning who in the Zone is decent and who can barely be reasoned with."

"I see. That's very good. People with any speck of intelligence can show compassion and understanding." Sydney hurumphed.

"By the way Sydney. I'm sorry for what you suffered through in your life."

Sydney blinked and slowly, he answered. "Really, ya mean it?"

Danny nodded. "Over time, I've just started to see more and more how pointless violence and pettiness are. So yeah, I'm sorry."

Sydney smiled and nodded solemnly. "Thanks, Danny. I'm sorry for the painful death you suffered or half death, or whatever you call it."

Danny blinked. "Oh uh thanks."

"Being killed by a ghost must've been rough and part of why you stopped us so much from haunting Amity, right?"

Danny shook his head. "Death by ghost? What do you mean?"

Sydney cocked his head in confusion. "Usually most ghosts only have rumors to go on about how a ghost died. Walker has official records for each ghost's end. It's against the rules to use the methods of a ghost's death against them. Most all ghost follow that rule, only the most malicious don't."

"That's not how I uh… died? I was shocked by the portal in my basement Sydney. I died from electrocution."

"No way." Sydney glanced away. "But that means…"

"What?"

"Walker broke his own rule then! Ha! He's going to be so PO'd!"

Danny's eyes widened. "Say what?"

"He's been avoiding using ecto energy on you, thinking the original rumors about your demise were true, you know dying from a ghost! He has no idea that he's been electrocuting a ghost that died from electrocution! It's against the rules! Even his rules!" Sydney shook his head. "He should've talked to the Observants to get proper records, but with how he's been somewhat bending the rules the last century, he didn't want to see the Observants and the Observants have been sort of shifty the last few decades. I guess since Plasmius showed up, so they didn't bother Walker. It's a weird sort of tango between the two, kinda like when you and Plasmius where promising to keep each other's secret."

"Wow." Danny frowned. "I knew the Observants were annoying and tended to prefer the easy way out of things, but I didn't know they were willing to let Walker's actions slide."

"Corruption is a phenomenon that exists in both our worlds as shameful of a truth as that is. Anywhos! Use that little bit of info to throw Walker off at the very least a minute or two; it could mean the difference between freedom and Judgement. I certainly don't want to see you at the ghostly gallows."

"Whoa wait, what's the ghostly gallows?" Dani asked and looked at her older brother.

Danny's face darkened slightly. "It's a hangman's noose that works on ghosts. It ends their time in this plane of existence and sends them to judgement immediately. At least that's what I've heard."

"Walker's pride and joy, sick one he is." Sydney mumbled. "The only other object in the ghost zone with that kind of power is the Scythe of the Reaper himself."

Jack and Maddie paled slightly and Maddie spoke. "Do you mean the Grim Reaper? As in _the_ Grim Reaper?"

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "I've never met him-"

"Most haven't. They say he doesn't speak. No one knows his face, or what's under his cloak. However most simply call him Reaper since the rumors say he doesn't like being called Grim."

"Clockwork says that he has spared people of their suffering so he's not always bringing despair with the death he brings. I think Clockwork had his Scythe for a while for some reason." Danny added and scratched his cheek.

"I've got to skedattle. It was nice talking things through, Danny and uh Dani… oh and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Sydney nodded and adjusted his glasses kindly. "I think you can count me and the rest of my crew from the fifties area to be your allies, maybe only a few don't like halvas and would leave us."

"Why hate a halfa?" Dani asked.

"Some ghosts feel cheated that halfas have both a human life as well as the power that comes with being a ghost. Usually it's a trade at death, not a chance to get all the above."

"Oh," Dani answered and shuffled her feet in slight awkwardness.

"Later gators!" Sydney smiled and then slipped through the floor to no doubt head back towards the portal in the basement.

The four Fentons blinked and then sighed almost in unison.

"Hey where's Jazz?" Danny asked suddenly.

Maddie smiled. "She's getting some last minute things from the store. She's heading back to college in the morning."

"Oh, what time is she leaving? I wanna make sure to say bye." Danny replied.

"Oh me too, me too!" Dani shouted.

"Jack smiled and hugged his wife from the side as Maddie spoke. "Tomorrow about an hour before you two normally wake up for school."

Danny nodded. "Alright, I guess I'm heading to bed then."

Dani smiled and started walking to exit the door to Danny's room before their parents. "Unless a ghost shows up."

"Right."

Jack grinned. "Make sure you two tell us!"

With that, the Fentons went to bed... except one. Danny Fenton sat quietly on his bed, after his family had left his room, with his eyes glowing green before closing them and starting to meditate.

* * *

><p><strong>So what did you think of Dani's first day of school? Oh and Ash, what did you think of Ash? I just kinda feel Dani needs to have at least one friend her age. Also what do you think about Dani meeting one other friend eventually? Is one friend her age enough? I'm thinking about not including the other person I made... idk. I DO NOT want to add too many OCs to the story (other than the unnamed students of Casper High when the field trip comes around) (P.S. I wasn't trying to reference Ash from my Pokemon stories, but once I'd decided Ash's appearance as an OC in this story and even him having white hair... I thought the name Ash would be cool.)<strong>

**zzzz**

**Answers to Questions:**

**white tiger freak: Could you explian how malus and dan come into play though?**

**NoSignal: I can't yet. Eventually they will come into play.**

* * *

><p><strong>alwaysALOHA: P.S. Isn't Sam's neighborhood Eidolon Hills?<strong>

**NoSignal: I'm not sure. I checked Sam Manson on the Wiki for the show and it didn't list anything to do with her neighborhood's name.**

* * *

><p><strong>Great: PS Hey, I was wondering, do you have any good (finished) DP stories that are after Planet Phantom or where Maddie and Jack had known since the beginning that Danny was half-ghost?<strong>

**NoSignal: Do you mean from me? Or one's I would recommend? If you mean recommendations, then I'd say some of my favorites are Infinite Potential (and it's sequel) and Return of Dani Phantom (and it's sequel). The later two are a tiny bit more Dani-centric, but Danny is pretty prominent. I haven't read really any good stories (or at least ones I liked, where Danny's parents knew from the beginning about his secret, however there is one called Shift that's being published. The other four are after Phantom Planet and are all complete, but Shift isn't. As for me? This is my one and only DP story. Once I finish this one or my Pokemon Stories, I might think up a new one... not sure. I'm kinda trying to hold off on Legend of Zelda stuff until after the new Wii U Zelda comes out. My plan right now is this:**

**Master Challenge and DP story**

**then Sequel drabbles to Master Challenge and probably Prequel**

**Another DP story if I need to buy time until the Wii U Zelda comes out then A Legend of Zelda story **

**Then I guess Mystery Dungeon would come next**

**Then finally My pokemon anime rewrite**

**{Probably breaks in between a lot of these, especially after Master Challenge and this DP story are done.}**

**Okay sorry if I rambled, moving on (oh and I hope I answered your question!)**

* * *

><p><strong>Guest: If you could be any animal on Earth, which one would it be and why?<strong>

**NoSignal: Hmmm what is with the animal questions, lol? Um... I guess maybe a horse or deer? idk. Most likely some kind of herbivore though. I'd think it'd be easier to find plants then hope you could take out something running away from you.**

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><p><strong>seantriana: I wonder why the guy had not commented on the monstrosity on top of the building that might probably tip by the side and probably crush them all? Or maybe he didn't notice? I guess some people tend to not look up while walking (point to self).<strong>

**NoSignal: Eh really it's just another room, even if it is precariously perched :)**

**zzzz**

**Thanks guys for everything! Oh and if some of you read the others reviews there were two or three reviews to which I answered their questions via PM since they were broader topics. If any of you wanted to see my answers to them, PM me or review that you want to know.**

**~NoSignal**


	12. An Imperfection made Perfect

**This is the last chapter before the Field Trip chapters… or Saga… or section… eh whatever you want to call it, begins.**

**For the record (this pertains to the Field Trip) I've decided, through my research, to place Amity park at the very very northern left tip of Indiana (since the wiki says Amity has palm trees... and a lake is water... eh). There are a lot of inconsistencies regarding where Amity Park could actually be, mostly having to do with how many hours/days the characters say they take to get to certain locations or states (Wisconsin, Utah, etc.). So really I can't make everything work, so I went with what the Wiki says "Somewhere in the Midwest, the Northwestern testing referring to the college and not the Northwestern U.S." Check the wiki to see what I mean. So yeah, because they were able to get to Lake Eerie, lol, by school bus. I choose Indiana. **

**I hope that's okay. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the wait, again, I refused to update this before I updated my pokemon story. Commitments and all.<strong>

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_There's no need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.__" __~ Ziad K. Abdelnour._

zzz

It was the very end of January now. Dani had been doing well in school and had become pretty close friends with Ash and Ash's friend, Jace. Jace was a very well privileged young man, though like Sam, he hid it from everyone. He had impeccable manners, a bit of a stone-faced persona, he was a marvel at using musical instruments of all kinds, and already had been educated in advanced home school classes before coming to Casper Junior high. He had brown hair that was almost always slicked back, hazel almost gold eyes, often wore a blue polo with long khakis and brown loafers. Both Ash and Jace had started hanging out with Danny and his friends as well. They even learned that Brandon and Jace knew each other from band class so all in all the growing group was quite comfortable with each other when they _all_ hung out.

Besides school, Danny hadn't seen Vlad recently at all which was a bit worrisome. Dani had started to get even colder recently as well, needing to wear thicker coats; Normally, like Danny had, she most likely wouldn't have noticed it since it hadn't gotten to the point of turning her blue, but Danny was able to see the signs; her ice powers were coming in soon. Because of this, Danny started to train her more closely.

zzz

**FentonWorks Lab.**

Danny and Dani were in the lab that Saturday morning. They were planning to go hang out with Tucker, Sam and Valerie after while and also work on de-icing the town, but first they were training.

"So… how do I do this?" Dani asked once they were in the middle of the large room and in Phantom form.

"It not as hard as it seems. You feel the power inside and then you let it all out." Danny smiled and formed a snowball in his hand. He then demonstrated a more complex technique and formed a glittering sword.

"That's it?"

"You'll learn more finesse later, but yeah. I know you can do it Dani! I mean you're me and well I did… That's the right logic, right?"

Dani giggled. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Dork."

"You've been hanging out with Sam too much."

"Sam's awesome."

Danny smiled a little goofily. "Yeah she is."

"Danny and Sam sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage-"

"Aw come on Dani, quit it!" Danny growled and stuck out his tongue in annoyance. "How about you try focusing more?"

Dani stuck out her tongue in response as well. "Fine." She closed her eyes and focused hard; she pulled in her arms as she strained. "Grrrrrrrrrr…"

"That's it…"

"Rrrrrr…"

"You're getting there."

"RrrrrrAAaaah!" Dani shouted and pushed out the energy. Ice formed, but that's where order ended and chaos began. Instead of a wave of energy which Danny was ready to block with a hot core heated ecto dome, a few dozen ice spears shot out from the younger Phantom's form and started flying everywhere. Some crashed into the ground and shattered, some ricocheted off tables and broke beakers, many knocked some devices over, and the rest continued to rebound off surfaces, walls, and the like. Dani yelped and started to dodge her own creations.

"Dani, over here!"

Dani glanced up and saw Danny surrounded in a shield. She watched as one of the spears struck his shield and pretty much melted on contact. She yelped after dodging one more stray ice piece and dove into the shield. She could feel the heat radiating off her brother once she was this close to him. He bent and held her close while the rest of the spears darted around and finally halted. As Danny took down his shield, his parents ran in, eyes wide.

"Kids, what happened?" Maddie asked hurriedly.

Jack looked around, saw the broken beakers and knocked over inventions and nodded. "Whelp the lab seems fine."

Maddie, Danny, and Dani glanced at each other a rose a brow in confusion. Then again, Jack almost never could tell when the lab looked like a mess.

Danny finally decided to speak up. "Oh well you see. I was trying to teach Dani about using her ice powers. It kinda went nuts. We'll clean up after we're done." Danny smiled and glanced down at Dani and saw she was frowning and still clutching his suit front.

"Oh well okay then. Be careful you two. It's about twelve o' clock, by the way. I know you two were wanting to meet with the others." Maddie nodded and turned to walk back up the steps. Jack grinned and followed her.

"Mads, can I have a cookie?"

"Of course dear."

Danny watched them leave and then looked down again at Dani. "Dani, you okay?"

She let out a disappointed sigh. "Naw… I mean."

"Dani… I think you inherited my inability to lie well, from me."

Dani pouted. "It's worked for you."

"But not _on_ me. Spill."

Dani sighed. "My ice powers are crazy. I'll never get them under control like you have."

Danny frowned and kneeled a bit to look at his sister. "Dani…" She looked into Danny's eyes as he continued. "Don't worry. You will get the hang of it. I promise!"

"How can you promise?"

"Because I'm your brother."

Dani frowned again. "Everything about me is messed up." She gasped when he snatched her chin in his gloved hand, to make her look at him again.

"I don't ever want to hear you say that again, okay? That's not true. You're Dani, not _Danny_. You're your own person and news flash, every existing thing is different from the next. Dani… you like everyone else, are perfectly imperfect."

Dani was in silent awe until Danny dropped his hand. "Danny…"

"Yeah?"

"You really mean that?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

Dani smiled brightly and threw her arms around her brother's neck, standing on her tip toes to do so. "Thank you."

Danny smiled contently and rubbed her back. "Let's clean up and go meet with the others, okay? I bet I can clean my side of the lab quicker!"

Dani grinned wickedly and jumped back from her brother. "You're on!"

zzz

**Amity Park Streets.**

Sam, Tucker and Valerie were on the sidewalk, talking as they watched Danny and Dani melt the snow and ice around town. It was quite suddenly that some of the last bits of ice on the street, broke apart and a tree grew up from beneath the earth. This started happening in several other places down the street and straight through a few buildings.

A stranger that had been watching happily as the Phantoms cleaned up their ice and snow, frowned a bit in surprise and shouted.

"Hey, not to be picky Mr. Phantom, but we don't need trees in the street!" The middle-aged man didn't seem angry however.

Phantom gulped and looked around as a blue mist escaped from his and Dani's mouths. "Uh, that's not me and my cousin's doing."

The other bystanders on the street looked nervously around.

"Ghost Child!"

Danny flinched at the loud roar as Undergrowth burst through the concrete on the street in front of the two Phantoms. A wicked grin split his face. His head glowed a bit as he took a breath and blew yellow sleep spores out of his mouth and into a large storm on the street. Danny and Dani were caught off guard and lost consciousness, plummeting out of the sky while everyone else in the vicinity, collapsed to the ground in slumber.

zzz

She could feel something pulsing and winding around her wrists and ankles… and voices… several voices. After a moment, Dani opened her eyes tiredly and groaned.

"Whoa! Dani Phantom's awake!"

Dani finally looked around and saw everyone that had been near the area where Undergrowth had appeared, tied to many large trees by vines. She was on her own smaller one, with ecto-neutralizing flytraps on her legs and arms.

"This isn't good," Dani spoke and blinked at the others.

One man's face went deadpan at her declaration.

"Wait, were's Danny!?" Sam asked and looked around.

Dani gasped and looked around. "Danny? CUZ! Danny!"

"He was with us… I wonder why…" A young woman mused.

Dani struggled and struggled for a bit before she sagged. "I can't break free and I can't use my ectoblasts."

"I guest we'll have to wait and see if Danny escaped," Valerie spoke up.

Dani frowned and and looked around one more time.

zzz

**FentonWorks Lab.**

Maddie and Jack had been working down in the lab that afternoon. They had seen Danny and Dani off when they said they were going to meet up with Sam, Tucker, and Valerie to start cleaning up the ice and snow Danny had made. Jack was working on the Ghost Gabber and trying to do to it what Danny had suggested. Maddie on the other hand was working on something a bit different. She'd been reading through all of Danny's ghost files and data he'd collected with Sam and Tucker over the years and had learned about Blood Blossoms; the idea… terrified the mother in her.

_Blood Blossoms: An ancient natural ghost weapon. This plant is similar to a rose with purple stems and thorns and red blossoms. The effects they have on ghosts are instantaneous. Physical contact is not NOT required to cause damage. Even the vapor can cause severe pain, physical contact hasn't been tested (And hopefully never will). We preformed one test were we (Or more Sam and Tuck. I stayed far away.) placed a petal in a sample of my blood. The tiny flecks of ectoplasm there turned black and Tucker observed that as soon as all the ectoplasm in the blood was gone, my blood cells started to break down. It seems that it even has effect on other parts of my hybrid body, perhaps because my DNA is saturated in ectoplasm molecules. One final note, If a hybrid is exposed to this deadly plant, they are unable to access their core and thus can't transform to escape the pain. In human form, a hybrid can approach the flowers but begins to get light headed after prolonged exposure to the vapor._

Maddie finished reading her son's notes and internally sighed. Those plants could hurt her son, badly. All sorts of ideas had popped into her mind against her will and various ways he might come in contact with the horticultural horror. It was like making sure your child didn't come near peanut butter if they were allergic to peanuts. The terror of wondering if those cookies happened to have peanuts in them and someone had forgotten to mention…

She could see him wailing on the ground right that moment. Screeching, pleading for someone to help him, tears streaming down his face. She shook her head and the torturous vision was gone. She needed… no. She HAD to make something that could help flush his system if something like that happened. The only problem was that she knew a blood transfusion worked for humans and she knew how to do the same for ectoplasm, but there were a few complications with doing the same for a blood AND ectoplasm mixture. It wasn't like there were many donors either. Dani would be the best bet, but that only worked if Danny was the only one harmed.

Darn it, she had to get back on that mind set. Dani… shrieking crunched in a ball… even destabilizing… She and Jack had been trying to make sure she was stable. All signs pointed to the fact she was, but Maddie still worried.

"Mads, you okay?"

Maddie flinched at the touch of a black gloved hand on her shoulder. She looked to the side to see Jack's face there.

"Of course dear… I was just…" She decided to give her husband a hint about her emotions. Jack could be pretty oblivious, but when it really mattered, he could be very observant. "Have you read Danny's notes about Blood Blossoms?"

Jack's eyebrows rose and then fell in thought. "Yeah, sounds…"

"Horrible?"

"Yeah, pretty gruesome." Jack looked at his wife and saw she was glancing down at the said file. "You want to brainstorm together on a way to keep that from being as much of a threat?"

Maddie couldn't help but smile slightly at Jack's offer. "I think that would be perfect."

Jack grinned and kissed Maddie on the cheek. "Perfect! I get the data and we can start trying to figure out if there's some other way to flush out his system without a donor of some kind. Danny-boy said that he's used pure ectoplasm before as a pick me up, so perhaps ectoplasm isn't as picky on the donor matching aspect."

"We don't know for certain though on a larger scale. A 'snack' per say is one thing. A transfusion is another."

They didn't get to talk much more before they heard a blare from their alarm systems.

"Jack! It's the Ecto-Exodus alarm! It must be some large amount of ecto-energy around town!"

Jack furrowed his brows in determination. "Let's go!" Maddie pulled down her hood after turning on the house's ghost shield and ran off towards the weapons vault. Jack ran off behind her and out the door of the lab, but not before popping back in a snatching the last piece of fudge he'd had on the table.

Almost as soon as they'd grabbed their weapons and opened the front door, they saw the greenery growing over the city.

"Undergrowth." Maddie assessed quickly. "We need to find Danny and the other kids. Undergrowth can regenerate himself, so normal weapons won't do much."

The two parents leapt into the Fenton RV and drove off, their buzz saw attachment carving a way through the urban jungle as they went.

zzz

**Casper High.**

The alarms were blaring at the school. Several nearby families had gathered at Casper to escape the growing vines and foliage that had strung up in Amity. Even some of the faculty had left their homes to hide there, mostly because Casper had a small ghost shield near the outside lunch area. It was a similar size to the one the Fenton RV used. At the moment, Mr. Lancer was noting who was present. Dash and his family, Kwan and his family and Mikey and his family were present that Mr. Lancer was familiar with, everyone else were either caring for elementary aged children or no child at all. It was a small group thankfully since the ghost shield was indeed small too. Also anyone that had lived too far away couldn't get to the school in time. No one had seen any sign of another citizen, save themselves, for a while and the plants kept growing and closing in. Sometimes one would touch the shield and be destroyed, but a few minutes later it would grow back at a saver distance.

"What on earth are we going to do? I sure hope those Fentons are doing _something_ useful," Dash's father spoke up.

"I'm wondering where Phantom is," A young woman added and almost everyone nodded at her.

"All we can really do is sit and wait for assistance of some kind." Lancer pointed out and then glanced around once more at the growing jungle.

It was a few moments later that a large creature formed from some of the plants around the school. Undergrowth towered before them, glaring at the shield as it's occupants screamed in surprise and fear.

"So, trying to shield yourselves from my children? I must say, under normal circumstances… You would be safe until you flesh walkers needed sustenance."

Lancer was feeling brave for some reason. "And what do you mean by normal circumstances?" Lancer somewhat demanded.

"Oh just my new son. I'm… persuading him to join me, you could say. He shall be the perfect caretaker."

Undergrowth caused a pod to rise up from the ground, then it opened and the small group gasped. Inside, Danny, in Phantom form, was tied up with vines and was unconscious.

"I shall give you all the privilege of watching me claim my new son."

"Wait, what!?" Dash blurted.

Undergrowth didn't answer but instead formed a mind vine and in one swift movement, thrust it into the base of Danny's skull. Immediately Danny's green eyes snapped open and a scream tore from his throat.

"Don't struggle, ghost boy. It'll only make the process more painful."

The small group gasped or stood gapping while their town hero thrashed in his bindings, trying to fight the influence of the mind vine.

"Phantom!" Mikey yelped in alarm.

Danny screamed at and even higher pitch after a moment.

"Stop resisting you stubborn child! This time you will not hinder me with your ice core!"

Ice started to coat the pod Danny was in and Undergrowth hissed in pain. He roared and his eyes glowed a more fierce red. Danny let out a final short cut off cry of pain before he stilled.

"Phantom?" A stranger within the group asked. Most everyone present was suddenly quite worried for their hero. Many would admit that they'd become a bit more attached to Phantom's person, not just his heroics, but his personality as well. He may be a ghost in their eyes, but it was hard for many in Amity not to feel concern. Some had been turned off by his rage fueled display against the GiW some time ago, but many saw it as proof that ghosts had emotion and could reversely have self control.

"My son, rise."

They saw Danny's foot twitch before he opened his chlorophyl filled eyes. He drew himself up to his knees, since his arms were still bound with vines. He glanced up at Undergrowth and blinked once.

"Father…"

Undergrowth smiled and cast off the vines from his child. "My son… thy first command is this. Destroy that barrier!"

Danny turned and floated into the air before moving forward a bit. He took a deep breath.

The people in the shield knew what was about to happen since they'd seen and heard about Phantom's Wail before. Some thought they were about to die but all they could do was cover their ears and clutch their loved ones when the powerful and haunting sound waves crashed against the ghost shield making it crack and then shatter to pieces like glass.

zzz

**Axion Labs.**

Sirens were blaring, lights were flashing, people were running. Damon was in battle mode. He was manning the main security outlet and shouting out commands to the other employees. Their defenses were holding, but only barely. This ghost was powerful.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Many of the people in the command center glanced up and saw a vine smash through a window and grab a man by his waist before yanking him out of sight. His screams faded.

"Ecto missile! Launch!" Damon shouted in increasing worry. Some of the other scientist typed rapidly on their computers causing a missile to come up out of the floor and aim out the window. It shot out and blasted something that screeched. It was quiet.

"Mr. Gray, sir? You think it left?" A random scientist asked.

Damon frowned for a moment and went to speak but paused when he heard a car's motor. In a flash, the Fenton RV was partially driven in the side of the building, mostly blocking up the hole the vine had made. Maddie and Jack climbed out of the vehicle.

"Jack dear, I told you to go around and remember, hun. The break is the larger pedal."

"Heh yeah, I knew that."

Damon stepped forward with a sigh. "Jack, Maddie, I'm so glad to see you. Did you see the ghost outside? Is it gone?"

Maddie looked up and shook her head. "There were several large plants and vines outside but the culprit behind this isn't here. The city's overrun with his spawn."

Damon gasped. "The rest of the city!?"

"Undergrowth is the name of the ghost. He's a very powerful and ancient ghost that uses plants. Most weapons won't harm him permanently since he can regenerate. We ran out of power in most of our weapons while scouting the city for anyone. The only place we haven't checked in near City Hall."

"So you came here hoping to find some weapons at least."

"That's right!" Jack added jovially.

Damon nodded and looked at everyone. "I'm going to take the Fentons to the stock room. Watch all the monitors, everyone."

After many nervous nods from the scientists and other employees, Damon walked off with Maddie and Jack. After a few minutes they reached the vault and opened it.

"Some ecto-grenades, ecto-refillable canisters… These will do nicely. Do you happen to have anything similar to a freeze ray?" Maddie asked, "You know, ecto-ice components?"

Damon shook his head. "It never occurred to us to make that kind of weapon."

"Perhaps after this is over we could work together on making some new weaponry."

"How do you know the name of this ghost?" Damon asked suddenly.

Jack and Maddie exchanged a nervous glance. Maddie regained her calm quickly, while Jack did the first thing that came to his mind, speak.

"Oh uh… Danny told us."

Damon paused and rose a brow at the now sweating Jack.

"He means, Phantom, Danny Phantom?" Maddie replied hastily. Damon relaxed and nodded, excepting the excuse.

"Ah I see. So has he really been sharing secrets about his enemies with you? Perhaps he thinks that we could weaken his competition before he got to take over Amity."

Maddie's mouth tugged itself into a frown and a twinge of guilt wrapped around both Fentons' hearts. They knew part of that image of their son's alter ego had come from them.

"Perhaps…" Maddie murmured, keeping up the charade.

Damon shut the door to the vault just as the alarms started to blare again and all three of them heard many screams coming from the laboratory. They started in that direction only to see waves of vines racing through the hall. They turned and bolted the other way.

"Damn it! We've been breached! How'd that happen so quick?"

"Undergrowth wasn't nearby, plants closer to him have more intellect than ones further away."

They had no choice but to run out the back of the entire complex to escape. Only then did they come to a screeching halt to face a surprising figure.

"Danny!" Jack shouted in surprise. Neither Maddie nor Damon spoke to correct him. Danny Phantom was floating in front of them and scanning them with his cold green and empty eyes.

"You will be good nutrients for the children."

They didn't even get to run before the vines had them.

zzz

Everyone had been captured and drug to the center of town. They were tied to trees and had yet to see Danny again after his attacks. It was getting quiet and Dani had gotten panicky and twitchy when she'd learned that Danny was under the influence of the mind vine.

"So wait, let me get this straight. You're saying Mr. Miracle Grow has Phantom under his control?" A man asked staring at the Fentons, who were tied to a tree close to Sam, Tucker and Valerie. Their various families were also close by.

"It's the mind vine. The ghost Undergrowth has the ability to manipulate the minds of people and ghosts." Maddie spoke up, rambling what she could remember from Danny's Ghost Files.

"You mean Phantom's being mind controlled through that vine in the back of his head?" A Damon Grey asked.

"Exactly, Damon," Jack nodded. "He can't be freed either unless that vine attached to his head is removed."

"I saw it! Phantom screamed like it hurt to." Dash squirmed.

"It seemed as though Phantom was trying to fight his influence but was overcome." Lancer added.

It grew quiet again. The citizens eventually ended up turning, looking at Dani and and blinking. A grumpy older man spoke up. "Well? Aren't you going to save us or something, ghost girl?"

Dani frowned. "I already said I can't move."

The man paused at the upset and somewhat lost look on the girl's face.

"Hey, Sam, Tucker, where's Danny, uh Danny Fenton?" Brandon asked from afar.

"And the other Dani?" Ash asked in worry. Dani glanced at him in slight confusion due to his worry, though she knew her two friends didn't know her secret like Danny's knew.

Jack spoke up. "If I know my kids, they didn't get tricked by any ghost and went to find help for Amity."

"Yeah, sounds like Fenton, running away." Dash rolled his eyes.

Sam growled and Tucker mumbled something under his breath.

"Uh, Dani, can't you just use your snowy powers like your cousin?" A young child asked. "Momma says that plants don't like the cold."

Dani perked up. "Yeah!" and then she glanced at the ground in shame. "Except, I haven't learned how from him yet. I'm still practicing, but… I guess I'll try." Dani was just about to start trying to concentrate, when they heard a voice that sounded very familiar.

"I could still teach you more interesting attacks instead."

Everyone but Dani gasped when they saw the figure behind Dani. It was Danny Phantom only with his reappearance, his look had become very different. Vines with spikes wrapped around his chest in an X-shape manner, blocking the view of his famous logo; they snaked up around his throat like a choker and also wrapped around his legs down to his ankles in a simple spiral. Lastly, he had a laurel wreath on his head which was a glowing greenish gold and a medium length cape of green leaves. His fully green eyes blinked at the humans and halfa present.

"Well, cuz? Do you want to join me and father and learn about the children? Father says the ice has no use and harms the earth's greens. Come, join us Dani."

Dani growled. "Danny! What's wrong with you!? You've got to snap out of it!"

Suddenly Undergrowth formed amongst them, making many gasp or scream shortly.

"What do you think of my Prince?"

Danny's eyes flashed. "Quemadmodum et pater, mundi et reget imperia." (I shall rule the Worlds and do as father commands.)

"I was shocked when I discovered that he can use the ancient language. He isn't like most ghosts, so it was somewhat assumed he couldn't… Regardless, with the only being here with ice powers out of the way, you will all be used as fertilizer. I'm going to tear down your city in your place because you humans take too long to even do that and Phantom, my son, will help me."

Dani growled and tried to pull her arms and legs from their restraints. "Leave my cousin alone! We already have some crazy ghost wanting us as his children, we don't need another! You're not Danny's father and you never will be!"

"I think I already am, dear girl, I would've used you as well… but I can not have a genetic curse among my garden, an accident. You are not suited for survival of the fittest. You're genes are not desirable enough."

Dani froze and if some of the citizens had been looking, they would've noticed the angered or sad looks on Sam, Tucker, Jack, Maddie, and Valerie's faces. Dani was looking at the ground at first in hurt, her eyes clinched and tears threatening to fall. The citizens watched in sorrow and some worry as they heard her trembling voice.

"I'm… I'm not a mistake. I'm… not an imperfection."

"And why would you believe that? Of course you are, you copy."

Many didn't understand what was going on with their traded words.

"Because Danny said so."

Undergrowth paused and then laughed. "So you believe yourself to be equal just because Phantom-"

"Believes in me!" Dani growled, interrupting Undergrowth.

The large plant ghost hissed. "It doesn't matter if he does."

"Yeah it does! He's loved and cared for me when no one else would! He's trained me and given me a reason to exist! I would be nothing without him!" Dani yelled back, thrashing again against the vines.

"Whatever." Undergrowth backed up and looked over at Danny. "Phantom, start spreading my kingdom. This is your next command."

Danny glanced over at Undergrowth. "Etiam pater." (Yes father.) Danny then started to move away with vines following after him across the ground.

Dani became panicked and yelled. "No! Danny! Stop!"

ooo

_Dani frowned again. "Everything about me is messed up." She gasped when he snatched her chin in his gloved hand, to make her look at him again._

_"I don't ever want to hear you say that again, okay? That's not true. You're Dani, not Danny. You're your own person and news flash, every existing thing is different from the next. Dani… you like everyone else, are perfectly imperfect."_

_Dani was in silent awe until Danny dropped his hand. "Danny…"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"You really mean that?"_

_"Have I ever lied to you?"_

_Dani smiled brightly and threw her arms around her brother's neck, standing on her tip toes to do so. "Thank you."_

_Thank you..._

ooo

Dani yelled again as her memories from the morning's training session she had with Danny ended. Suddenly, ice cracked and formed around the vines holding her down and traveled far along their length. The vines exploded into shards of ice after that. Undergrowth hissed again and commanded Danny. "Get her!"

Danny growled and shot towards Dani like a rocket. She yelped as he slammed vines into her form, sending her crashing into the ground.

"She can use the ice. We must put her in a pod to prepare her… She shall rest eternally."

Danny nodded and floated towards the ground to capture Dani. She was laying on the ground, still as a stone. "Eius finis." (Her end comes.) He took one more step towards her form. Before he could command the vines to grab her, Dani jumped up suddenly and placed her hands on his chest.

"Sorry, Danny!" The ice energy thudded against Danny's chest and ice then coated his front, arms and legs, making him partially immobile. Dani quickly reached around back and yanked hard on the mind vine. It snapped and dissolved in her hand. She then saw the partially frozen Danny fall backwards and strike the ground, seemingly out cold.

"You wretched weed! You despicable defect! I'll end you!" Undergrowth whipped vines in Dani's direction and she dodged upwards and fired a stream of ice out of her hands, freezing part of Undergrowth's base.

She smiled brightly. "_Cool_!" She blinked. "I even got to make a pun!"

"GRRRRAAaaahH!" Undergrowth roared and slapped Dani back towards the ground with his hand. She crashed into the street a second time and she tiredly raised her head to glance over at where Danny was. Only to see, he wasn't there.

"Need a hand?"

She gasped and looked in front of her to see Danny smiling, clean of his foliage-made costume and extending his hand. She blanched when she saw a mind vine dart towards Danny once more.

"Danny!" She gapped when the vine touched some kind of invisible barrier and caught fire before coming near Danny. He turned from her and glared at Undergrowth. "You caught me off guard once, not again."

Undergrowth snarled as Dani rose herself from the ground. Danny turned to her and nodded. "Ready?"

Dani nodded back. "Ready."

Her brother's form was soon coated with flames that popped and sizzled. His eyes were gleaming orange. Dani called on her ice core as blue filled her eyes and covered her fists.

"Dani! You learned Cyrokinesis!"

"Yep, thanks to your advice."

Danny frowned. "Ready to stop talking and kick some butt?"

"Uh, DUH!"

Danny and Dani then shot forward, Dani with her new ice powers and Danny still blazing like a comet.

_I'll distract him up here and you go underground and freeze his roots._

_Okay!_

Danny stopped his communication and started circling around the plant ghost, blasting him with balls of ghost fire. He roared as he felt the ice start to freeze him beneath and shrink him. Dani appeared back up next to Danny. Undergrowth growled as he started to shrink further. "Let's retry this." He took in a breath and Danny's eyes widened. _What could get rid of the spores?_

"Danny?" Dani asked with nervousness as Undergrowth finally exhaled the spores.

Danny growled and pulled back his arm on instinct; hoping to cast a wave of hot air, he instead got something different. When he waved his arm in front of them, a ripple of invisible energy distorted their view before glowing green and forcing a wind of energy to twist and swirl into the spores and disperse and neutralize them. The wind toppled Undergrowth onto his side. Dani then blasted him with ice while Danny concentrated to form a weapon from ice after switching to his cold core. A staff of ice slowly started to glitter and form in his hand. Once it got far enough away from his hand on one end, it stopped at a spike; then a blade formed from the side and curved. Danny was now holding a scythe made of ecto ice in his hand.

"Time to cut you down to size!" Danny bantered before swinging a wide arc with the weapon, slicing Undergrowth in half. Dani fired more ice and soon, Undergrowth was a mere weed.

"You Phantoms will pay for this!" Undergrowth shouted with a squeaking voice.

Danny smirked and picked Undergrowth up and then froze the small weed solid. "I think the Observants would be happy to have you back." The scythe melted in his other hand and he placed Undergrowth on the ground again. Danny turned to see Dani starting to help get people out of the vines. Danny formed claws made of ecto ice and floated up before slicing through the binds while Dani caught and helped everyone down to the ground. The trees and most everything else started to shrink, no longer being powered by Undergrowth.

Danny floated over to Dani and lifted her into the air from behind. "You did it, Dani! You saved us, cuz."

Dani gasped and shook her head. "No I didn't. We both did."

Danny let go and chuckled in her face once she'd turned around. "Uh, I was kinda one with the mind vine. You set me free. So you saved us."

Dani blushed slightly and kicked at the ground.

"And you learned your ice powers! Uh, can you say BONUS!?" Danny exclaimed.

Dani looked up at him with a big smile. "Thanks for believing in me, Danny."

He paused and rubbed the back of his neck with confusion. Dani giggled and looked back at the crowd and winked.

"Anytime, cuz."

zzz

The people of Amity started to clean the streets from left over plant matter, trying to repair their city after Undergrowth's attack.

Back at Fentonworks, Team Phantom and Danny's family were gathered in the living room waiting for Danny's return from the Observants in the Ghost Zone. Dani was in her human form with a new brown beanie on when her ghost sense activated. Everyone in the room tensed.

"Don't worry it's just Danny. I always know his… sense?"

"Huh, how do you do that?" Everyone jumped slightly when Danny's head popped through the floor intangibly.

"Jeez Danny don't do that," Valerie sighed and placed a hand on her heart. Tucker, Sam and Valerie had practically jumped through hoops to convince their parents that they would be safe at the Fentons for the rest of the day, but they were here and that's what mattered.

Danny laughed nervously. "Oops, sorry." He floated up through the floor and changed into Fenton before sitting beside Sam on the couch.

"I don't know. I've always been able to sense certain ghosts, mostly you and Vlad," Dani answered Danny's previous question.

"Huh, maybe it has something to do with how you were made, though that wouldn't explain Vlad. Maybe you can try and teach me sometime."

The short talk was interrupted by Mrs Fenton.

"Danny we were wondering how you created that wind. Has that always been one of your powers?" Maddie asked.

Danny rubbed his neck nervously. "Uh actually, it was an accident. It was supposed to be a wave of fire or something like that. It felt different though.

Sam hummed. "From what we've gathered. I theorize that that attack didn't use either core, like your normal ectoblasts don't. I wonder if you can use it in any other ways?"

Tucker grinned. "Maybe it's your Psychic powers getting stronger! You used Telekensis to move the air. Maybe you could even use it in other ways, like displacing the air around you to run or fly faster?"

Maddie hummed. "That is an idea. Perhaps some kind of psychic manipulation of the area around you?"

Danny grinned and snapped his fingers. "That makes since."

Dani perked up. "It does?"

"If you force it outwards slightly, like I did, then the aura or psychic aura could be used to displace the air around us, or even communicate data aka thoughts by altering matter, that must be where my Telepathy came from. Technically the healing abilities we have are psychic in nature following that theory. We _will_ our bodies to heal faster because we control the process more than normal humans."

The whole group hurried after Danny when he stated he wanted to try something. Danny transformed into Phantom and flew down into the lab, with Dani right behind him.

They found Dani watching Danny as he closed his eyes and willed a pale greenish aura to form around him. He then flew forward, _fast._ Tucker gasped and fumbled with his PDA to try and clock Danny's speed but the halfa met the wall before anyone could do anything. He crashed face first into the opposite side of the lab and slid to the ground transforming back into Fenton.

"Ow."

"Danny! You went so fast!" Sam yelped and ran over. "Are you okay?"

Danny groaned. "Well yeah I guess. That's going to take some practice. It drains me really quick to force my aura out. That and being able to control myself when going so fast is also hard."

"That was so awesome!" Dani squealed.

"Then I guess I need to start practicing," Danny replied with a grin.

zzz

**Mansion on the Outskirts of Amity. One week later.**

"Undergrowth… such a vile ghost. Couldn't he at least clean up after himself?" Vlad grumbled as he picked up a shriveled up vine from his armchair. He tossed it in a garbage can. Vlad had left for the Ghost Zone while Undergrowth had attacked Amity. Concerning the facts Vlad believed to be true he'd figured there was no way for the over-grown weed to overcome his destined son. Daniel had grown strong. He'd been a tad surprised to learn that Dani had been the one to actually save the town since Daniel had been controlled. Vlad wasn't sure what to think of that really, so he banished the thoughts entirely.

Vlad walked over and looked down at his monitors now that he'd rebooted them. He sat in his armchair and began strumming his fingers against it's armrest as he watched the Fenton family moving about their home. But of course he'd been spying on them since practically day one. Regardless, he was getting angrier and angrier at what he had been seeing. He had had the somewhat small hope that Daniel's parents would've abandoned him as soon as they found out what he was but alas dear Maddie was too too kind. In fact things had been getting easier for Daniel, which was not helpful and the family also knew of Vlad's other half.

Nothing was going his way. Vlad needed to break Daniel in order to tame him, having his parents accept him, help him with ghosts, and now even allowing Danielle into their family, was making things too easy. The stress he'd known before was slowly going away, though now Daniel also had the moniker of TheEidolon on his shoulders too. He needed to push Daniel past his breaking point.

Vlad sighed. "Oh Maddie… Daniel… why do you seek to torture me with your distance?"

Vlad desperately wanted their company… their love. He could feel his core burn in his chest at just the thought. How foolish he'd been to try and _clone_ Daniel; it would never replace the real thing. How he wanted them to smile at him… Then though, the thought of the one who'd taken that all away from him… Jack. His core heated up even more and his had to let out a hiss.

Vlad shook his head and tried to tame the emotions bubbling up due to his ghostly obsession. He wouldn't be able to keep a cool head if he let his emotions take control… he'd suffered from that more times than he'd like to admit.

Vlad glanced over at another screen to distract him from his previous thoughts and saw the Crown of Fire flickering behind a shield. If only he could figure out a way to get into the Observant's vault and retrieve the Ring of Rage. He knew that as soon as he did that, he could rule the Ghost Zone. He needed time to plan how to accomplish this, but if Daniel wasn't under his command or at the very least, distracted, then he'd never get away with it. Daniel was actually becoming quiet powerful, even Vlad was having to admit it. He wasn't sure why Daniel seemed to be getting stronger, but he was.

It was during this time that Vlad noticed Daniel talking with Maddie. He listened closely and froze when he heard what his love said to Daniel after he'd told her or explained to her some sort story about one of Vlad's past schemes.

"That scoundrel! I can't believe he was our friend!"

"He let his obsession get the better of him."

"I… Right now, I can only see him as a malicious ghost. When I find him, if I find him, I…"

"Mom."

"I'm sorry Danny, it's just. I never thought I'd hate Vlad. Yes he was odd, but he was a good friend long ago."

"I'm sorry you had to learn about his real self."

"Don't be sorry. Sometimes it's important to learn what are the true monsters among us. I think you for helping me learn, Danny."

Vlad growled as his eyes flashed a dangerous red briefly. He then jumped back from the screens and out of his chair before starting to pace. He grit his teeth and roared before slamming his fist into his bookshelf, making the shelf fall and the books scatter about the room. He stayed that way for a moment, hand resting on the wall and torso leaning that way too for support. Quiet… empty… silence. His mansions were full of it… even the meowing of a cat wasn't enough.

"Maddie thinks… I'm… a monster."

Heated tears bubbled at the corners of his eyes before he transformed into Plasmius. Those two single, now glowing, tears fell as Vlad flew towards his portal in his lab to enter the Zone. He had some places to go and things to do. The only thing he knew for certain though were that he would make Daniel pay for turning his love against him enough to call _him_ a monster. He would prove to Maddie that Jack was the monster and then Daniel would become his mindless slave instead of his well mannered and happy son.

What did he have to lose now? Nothing. The Fentons, Daniel, or his little friends could rat him out at any time and everything he had would be taken from him. Play time was over; the only way he'd pull out a win was if he made the first move.

zzz

**Amity Mall.**

"I've got to say, it's amazing."

"Thanks Sam."

Danny and Sam were walking down the road towards Mr. Fundoo's Art Gallery to drop off a new sculpture that Danny had made. Danny had left home an hour or so ago and met up with Sam. The sculpture was of Undergrowth.

"It's also pretty big, so who knows how much you'll get for it. That and TheEidolon's fame will bolster the price."

Danny smiled a bit. "That's cool, I guess."

As they approached the Gallery, they saw people all camping out in front of the store. They snuck to the back as Mr. Fundoo yanked them both inside.

"Uh, and you are?" Mr. Fundoo asked and glanced up and down at Danny in his ratty Humpty Dumpty t-shirt and jeans.

"Uh…"

"He's my friend," Sam replied swiftly and pulled out the sculpture of Undergrowth.

Mr. Fundoo's eyes sparkled. "Aaahh... Another amazing piece by TheEidolon. People somehow found out a new one was coming in. You think he could make several of these?"

Sam glanced mostly invisibly at Danny who gave a brief nod.

"Yes he can."

"Excellent! Thank you for bringing it by, Sam." Mr. Fundoo glanced at Danny and frowned. "Maybe you could teach your _other_ friends to be interested in the Arts like your friend TheEidolon."

Danny frowned and grumbled to himself.

Sam said goodbye and once the two were outside, she grabbed Danny's hand.

"Man… I really get underestimated by people, huh?" Danny murmured.

Sam frowned and squeezed his hand softly. "It's just people with their dumb stereotypes. People aren't willing to get to know you. It's their fault not yours."

"So do I not look approachable?"

Sam smirked and spun him slightly before leaning into him. "I'd say more than approachable." She then kissed him, deeply.

They heard one or two people nearby grumble about their PDA so they wandered into an alleyway to have a smudge of privacy. Sam linked her hands behind his head and started to push harder into a kiss they'd started. Danny reached for her curvy waist and she took one hand to reassure him and guide him there. They had their chests pressed against each other as they kissed long and tenderly. Eventually Danny flipped them so he was pushing her up against the wall.

"I was such an idiot. How could I have not realized…" Danny murmured after another kiss.

"Cause you're Mr. Clueless."

"Thank you."

"Thank you too, Mr. Phantom."

Danny laughed and leaned his forehead forward to rest on hers.

Sam sighed. "I'm just glad you didn't keep after Paulina." Sam had to hold back a laugh when a slightly disturbed look crossed Danny's face.

"I should've listened to you in the beginning. She has a weird physical obsession with Phantom which at some point also transferred to Fenton and then back to Phantom because of spite and now she thinks that Phantom will come crawling back… It's like she sees a different world or something."

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"How about we no longer mention any A-listers while making out, hm?" Danny smirked.

Sam smirked back. "I do believe you're on to something."

They leaned in and went back to kissing and then exploring each others' mouths, when Sam's eyes shot open. A cold breath of icy fog was set free in her mouth and Danny jerked back quickly.

"Sorry, ghost sense."

Sam placed a hand to her mouth and laughed a bit awkwardly. "That was… actually, I don't know what to say about that."

Danny smirked before turning away from her and looking around. The white crackling rings of light traveled up and down Danny's body, turning him into Phantom. After what they'd been doing, Sam felt a blush rise to her cheeks seeing him in his skin-tight HAZMAT suit. She fought away her blush as she saw Danny shoot into the sky and look around before flying back down to her.

"I don't hear anyone screaming yet and I didn't see anything."

"Maybe its a more subtle ghost, like Spectra or Youngblood or even Vlad."

"Hmm… Stay close to me. I don't want to be caught off guard by anythi-"

"Ruff! Ruff-ruff!"

Danny and Sam looked over and saw a dog fumble into their line of sight on the other end of the alleyway. It had a old crusty boot over its head and was growling as if enjoying some play. What was different about this dog compared to most however, was it's particular green fur and greenish aura. It was none other than Cujo the ghost dog.

"Cujo…" Danny warned.

Cujo perked up and turned intangible so the boot could fall from his head. His ears turned towards Danny and he lolled out his tongue. The dog bolted right at Danny and grabbed his 'master's ankle before running off.

"CUJOOOOH!"

Sam laughed into her hand and ran out of the alleyway to see where the ghost dog had taken her boyfriend. People who were walking down the street turned and stared at Danny as he was drug down the street by the ankle by the small dog.

"Cujo! Cujo, down boy! No! No!" The dog drug Danny through the bushes and into the park. Once there, he let go and grabbed a stick before getting into a pounce position and wagging his tail in front of Danny. He chuckled and shook his head. "Wait did you want to play fetch or something?"

"Ruff! Ruff ruff!"

"Okay, okay fine. Five tosses, okay?"

"Ruff!"

"Geez, okay six tosses and a belly rub."

"Ruff!"

"Good, give it here." Danny picked up the stick and tossed it really far. Cujo barked happily before dashing off after it. This was repeated five times and then Cujo laid down in front of Phantom on his back as his stomach was rubbed.

"You be good, okay Cujo? No scaring people."

"Ruff!"

Danny looked about after saying goodbye and flew off to transform, before finding Sam at the entrance to the park.

"He give you enough trouble?"

Danny laughed a bit. "He just wanted some attention… I think."

The two turned and walked off, heading down the road towards FentonWorks. They were at the door when Cujo ran from behind them as if he'd been trailing them and through the Fentons' front door.

"GHOST!"

Danny gave a quick look to Sam before they both ran inside. "Dad, wait!"

Jack was pointing a Fenton bazooka at Cujo, who'd transformed into his larger form. Danny ran over and got between them. "Just put the bazooka down slowly. You scared him."

Jack glanced up at Cujo before looking at Danny. He nodded and slowly pulled the weapon out of sight. Danny spoke soothingly to Cujo before he shrunk into puppy size.

"So he really likes ya, huh Danno?" Jack asked.

Danny laughed sheepishly. "Well yeah. I got his squeaky toy back for him. It's kinda weird. Most ghosts that fulfill their obsession in some way move on, but Cujo's still here."

Sam smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Unless they find a new obsession, like protecting their master."

Danny seemed surprised and looked down at Cujo. "Is that true?"

"Ruff!"

Jack seemed contemplative for a moment before he smiled. "Well your mother's out, but she'll be home soon. What do you want for supper?"

Danny shrugged.

"Do you mind if I stay for dinner?" Sam asked.

Danny rolled his eyes. "You don't even have to ask."

Jack chuckled and moved into the kitchen to look around while Danny and Sam went to guide Cujo to the portal.

"Did someone say dinner? Valerie was busy so I thought hey, why not go and eat the Fentons out of house and home?" Danny and Sam turned and looked at the door to see Tucker's head popping through. He had a grin on his face.

Danny laughed. "Always man."

zzz

**Valentine's Day. Casper High.**

"Ugh, too much pink. I'm going to be sick."

"Come on Sam, it's just one day."

"She can't stand it though, Danny. Look at her, look at her!" Tucker joshed before Sam elbowed him hard.

The three friends were walking through the halls of Capser High on Valentine's day. Hearts and decorations lined the walls and Danny was certain he'd seen Sam gag twice since they'd arrived.

"Come on Sam, it's not that bad." Danny tried to assure her.

Sam frowned a bit but squeezed his hand in return. "Okay okay, I'll try to bare it a bit longer." She growled a bit under her breath. Danny only smiled back.

"Oop! I'll catch you two lovebirds later!" Tucker snapped out with a cheeky grin before running over towards Valerie, who was at her locker. The other girl waved at Sam and Danny before walking away with Tucker at her side.

"And he always teased _us_." Sam grumbled. Danny smirked and turned to walk towards History class, which he and Sam both shared. They noticed several people talking in pairs in the halls and trading notes to each other.

"I guess it's kinda endearing." Sam murmured.

"That's the spirit," Danny replied. He then blushed and glanced at the ground. "Hey uh. I have a surprise for you ya know."

Sam perked up and looked at Danny. "You do? Danny! I didn't get anything for you!"

Danny smiled. "Well I suppose you could call it a late gift."

"For what?"

"Your birthday."

Danny reached down into his backpack pocket and pulled out something shimmering. He placed it carefully in Sam's hand. It was the pedant of ecto ice with a ghostly flame burning inside which was to be added to her necklace she had received for her birthday.

"How'd you do it!?" Sam gasped and held it carefully.

"I finally figured out that I could duplicate, use cold core for one and hot core for the other, then separate them with a little ectoplasm. I hope that's not weird… I had to use my uh… blood? Just a little, to keep the fire from melting the ice. You can't really see it. I would've used my ray but it was too volatile. If you just wanna normal piece without the blood thing then-Mmph." He was halted by a quick but sweet kiss.

"It's perfect, beyond perfect. Before we got really close and we were still strictly friends, I had always wanted to switch vile of blood necklaces with my future boyfriend, but that usually weirded people out. This is fine though… I think it's a perfect balance."

Danny chuckled and then smiled. "Glad you like it."

Sam slipped the piece into a safe pocket before they entered the room for History class. Mrs. Lawrence, their History teacher started class and told everyone that they would be having a vote for the most loved girl and boy in school. Then they went on with their lesson.

zzz

At lunch, Danny, Sam, Valerie, Tucker, Dani, Ash, and Jace all sat together. Danny learned that Dani had received valentines from both of her friends and she'd given one to both of them. Jace kept asking Ash in a very obvious way if he was feeling hot since he looked flushed. Dani didn't understand or notice Ash's blushing or Jace's hints, though Jace and Tucker seemed to share an exasperated look. Danny gave both of Dani's friends a dangerous glare before Sam could scold him for bothering them or Dani could get embarrassed by her big brother.

From afar they could hear Paulina and Dash talking about how obvious is was that they would be voted for most loved girl and boy in the Highschool's vote.

zzz

The last class of the day was Mr. Lancer's English class. He pulled a chair up to sit in front of everyone, which wasn't normal.

"Everyone, today we will be discussing the annual Senior Class Trip."

A bunch of cheers from the class rose up and Lancer quieted them with a hand.

"It will take place over Spring Break and we will be traveling to the Ozarks Mountains in Arkansas. Mrs. Testlaff and myself will again be the chaperones. The Bus ride will be roughly eleven hours in length, so make sure to bring a few snacks if you want. We'll stop for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. We will be camping in the wilderness and not cabins so you will need to provide your own sleeping bags, tents, and equipment. It will be a week long trip into the unknown! So here are you slips for parental consent if you want to join us."

Sam's eyes got wide and she tugged on Danny and Tucker's sleeves. "We gotta go."

"Awwwww…. but no TV? No internet if I get no bars?" Tucker whined softly.

Danny shrugged. "If you guys want to."

"Sounds like fun to me," Valerie responded.

The class quieted a bit when the principal's assistant walked into the room and passed Lancer two envelopes. He spoke up as she left.

"Well, it seems that both of the winners for the Valentine's voting are in our classroom."

Dash grinned and high fived Kwan while Paulina lifted her head high with pride. Danny, Sam, Valerie and Tucker weren't paying attention and Lancer stood.

"The girl chosen as most loved in Casper High is Paulina Sanchez."

Paulina got up as most of the girls and boys in class applauded her. She walked to the front and received a nice little heart card that had lace and decorations on it.

Lancer pulled out the second slip of paper. "And the boy that won most loved is-"

Dash went to stand with a bright toothy smile on his face and then-

"Daniel Fenton."

The room was silent.

"We should bring those tents that can link together."

"Sounds wicked. How big do you think we could make our clan of tents?" Tucker joked.

"Who knows, depends if anyone else we know has the same kind," Danny replied.

"I could order some." Sam offered.

"That could be an idea." Tucker grinned.

"Oh yeah forgot you had like an army of people at your beck and call." Valerie smirked at the smiling Sam.

"Daniel?"

Danny perked his head up and looked about the room to see everyone staring at him. "Uh, yeah?"

"You're the winner."

Dash was still have hanging over his seat in shock but then he ground his teeth. "There's no way Fenturd is the winner! I'm the most loved guy in the school!"

"Wait, what!? Me?" Danny asked and scratched the back of his head.

"There's difference between douche and most loved guy, Dash." Some random student sneered.

"Who said that!" Dash growled.

"Enough!" Lancer shouted and turned to Danny. "Mr. Fenton?"

Danny sweated nervously and chuckled. "Uh, okay." He got up and walked up to the front of class with his hands in his pockets. He reached out with one hand and took his card for winning. "Uh thanks I guess?" Danny smiled and shifted nervously in front with Paulina next to him. Paulina grumbled something and looked away.

"Alright then." Lancer spoke up as the two started back towards their seats. "We have ten minutes, let's try to get some class time in."

Danny sat down and shrugged to his friends. Tucker was smirking, Valerie was smiling from her new closer seat near them and Sam was looking at him in amusement, before a wisp of blue escaped Danny's mouth. He rose his hand. "May I go to the restroom?"

Lancer nodded and then sighed at the predictable scenario. "Very well."

Danny ran out of the classroom in a hurry. It seemed that a ghost was just outside the range of the School's ghost alarms.

_-BBBRRRRRIIINNNGGG!-_

Never mind.

"The Age of Innocence! Why must ghosts interrupt my class!?" Lancer shouted as the students started to evacuate according to protocol. An even more interesting thought entered Lancer's mind though. Ever since the alarms had been installed... Daniel always seemed to use the bathroom before they rang. He'd usually reappear after the ghost was gone too. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the alarms stopped.

"I heard the alarms go off. Is the ghost gone?"

Lancer turned and saw Danny walking down the hall towards him and his class, hair a bit tangled and a cut barely showing near his shirt collar.

"Yeah, it's gone. The alarms would be still ringing otherwise," Tucker spoke up and continued playing the game of Alien Invader on his PDA he'd started. Then the final bell rang and the rest of the class ran off. Lancer stood watching Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie walk away only to merge with Danny's young sister, Dani, and her friends Ash and Jace. Dani's ponytail looked a bit untidy, like she'd wrestled with something. Jace halted them all and licked his thumb and finger before smoothing out a few stray hairs on Dani's head. Ash mentioned something about Jace being OCD and by then the rest of the group's talk was lost as they walked further away from Lancer.

"Yes... gone. The ghost is gone, Mr. Fenton." Lancer frowned in worry. Was Daniel fighting ghosts on the side? He needed to figure things out now more than ever. The trip... Yes the trip. If Danny and his friends went then maybe outside of the school environment, he could come to understand the four students a bit more.

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><p><strong>Hoped you liked it!<strong>

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><p><span><strong>Answers to Questions:<strong>

**bloody dragon fang: Danny's powers, does that mean that she will get her own set of powers that Danny won't get? I mean that would be awesome like maybe she gets the power to control rocks or maybe even obtain the power to shapeshift as good as amorpho**

**NoSignal: That does sound cool, but not for this story. Dani simply has a cold core and not a hot core. Your idea is pretty neat though, reminds me of Sypro and Cynder sorta :)**

**transmetaljohn: That leads me to one question though. How can Danny transform into a Dan Phantom like state if he does not absorb Vlad's ghost half?**

**NoSignal: I'm actually going to use someone else's words since they explained it the best in their own review of the chapter :) [Danny's "transformation" into a more Dan-looking character also makes sense, as he gets a few of Dan's traits in becoming angry like Dan... but he also doesn't completely turn into Dan because Dan also has some of Vlad's ghostly qualities and is older, which Danny doesn't express, obviously. ] Hope that helps!**

**Check it bonsly: (Have I reviewed this story yet? I definitely reviewed the master challenge...)**

**Anyway, I think that if Dani gets another friend, it should be a girl (so then its a genderswap of Danny, Tucker and Sam)**

**NoSignal: Naw this is your first for this story, I think. The genderswap idea is cool, but I hope you still like Jace. His character will be built upon as well as Ash's more in the next chapter. :)**

**NoSignal to Starlin's Ghost: Thanks again for a lovely review :)**

**NoSignal to all: Thanks everyone! :D**

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><p><strong>~NoSignal<strong>


	13. The Somewhat Incredible Journey

**Here we go. The first chapter of the Field Trip portion!**

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><p><strong>For now I<strong>**'****m going to say that each chapter ****should come every week and a half to two weeks**** I will inform you whenever I get any buffer chapters and can update faster or if something comes up to alter this schedule.**

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><p><strong>And I'm just going to say this for safety: There are some people from history that appear in here. In particular people or... ghosts from a place called the Lemp Mansion. Even if I used these deceased people, I gave them my own purpose. I used different names for the people that supposedly used to live there and the place so: <strong>

**All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.**

**AKA I generalized them greatly to make them less specifically like anyone other than the general location the mansion is located.**

* * *

><p>zzzz<p>

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

_Mental thoughts or distant speaking_

zzzz

"_...there ain't no journey what don't change you some.__" __ ~ David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas._

zzz

**A day before Spring Break. The day of the High School Camping Trip.**

Spring Break and the Senior Trip would be starting tomorrow, so Danny had invited everyone over to his house to spend the night. Sam, Valerie, and Tucker were finishing packing some of their things and even Danny's things in Danny's room, while Danny himself was in the lab talking with his mother and father about some ghost hunting equipment they wanted him to bring for safety's sake. Dani was mad that the trip was only for High Schoolers, but Maddie had promised to get some time for her to bond with herself, Jazz and Jack while Danny was gone; Jazz would be visiting for Spring Break but would be missing Danny by a day or so. Tucker had pleaded with the others to have a video game night before they left since they'd be mostly without until the trip was over. After staying up a while and playing games with Sam, Valerie, and Dani too, the five all fell asleep leaning against one another.

The next morning, Danny was going to fly them to school after they said goodbye to Danny's parents and Dani. They'd packed their tents, sleeping bags, and all the camping equipment they'd need. Ultimately they'd found that only Valerie was really interested in their clan tent idea, but honestly that was okay with them. Though they really were warming up to Brandon, Lester, and some of the others, it was nice to have just the four of them in a tent were they could talk about secretive things when they were careful. Sam had contacted Mr. Fundoo and told him that TheEidolon would be unable to work for the next week so he shouldn't expect any new pieces at the end of the that period.

After getting everything together, they said goodbye to the Fentons and Danny grabbed up his three friends and their things before flying them invisibly to school. They arrived at six AM just like they had been told to. A large bus was in front of the establishment since over twenty students had decided to come. Many of them were standing around in the parking lot in their groups and talking excitedly. Danny and his friends appeared from behind a bush and walked up to check in with Mr. Lancer.

When they saw the bus, Danny face-palmed, Tucker had a dry look on his face, Sam sighed in exasperation and Valerie wanted to punch something. On the side of the bus was DALV corp's logo and a big goofily grinning portrait of Vlad Masters.

"Of all the kinds of busses the school could've rented." Danny grumbled from behind his hand.

"How embarrassing to have to travel around with that thing plastered on there." Sam sighed.

"At least we won't have to see it for a while once we get to Arkansas," Tucker added.

"I'm not getting on that thing," Valerie hissed. She glanced at Tucker grumpily when he slid an arm around her shoulders.

"Eh, Vlad's ego is bigger than that bus. I say it's false advertising."

Danny actually laughed. "That was actually a good one, Tuck."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tucker narrowed his eyes.

Valerie snickered when Sam grinned. "He means usually your jokes suck."

"Why am I friends with you people again? I don't have to deal with this kind of abuse."

Valerie smirked and pulled Tucker's beret over his eyes and pulled him into a side hug. "Because you love us."

"Oh yeah. Dang it."

At that moment, Mrs. Telstaff blew her whistle sharply to gain everyone's attention. "Okay boys and girls, Mr. Lancer is going to do roll call, so listen up and raise you hand when your name is called."

Lancer then went down the list alphabetically by their last names.

There was Megan, Brandon, Dash, Danny, Tucker, Valerie, Lester, Star, Alroy, Brad, who was a large boy with a red and white shirt and red baseball cap and jeans, Stan, who was a blond boy with red glasses and an orange shirt and jeans, Norman, Sam, Mikey, Kwan, Melanie, who was a red head with glasses that Mikey had a crush on, Lesley, a brown skinned girl with wavy black hair straight above her head who wore a green headband and shirt with jeans, John, who had brown hair, glasses, and an orange shirt, Dinah a brown haired and eyed girl with a pink shirt and jeans that often hung out with Paulina, Paulina, Freddie, who had orange hair, a green hat and orange shirt with jeans, Tyson, Richard, who was a hispanic young man with short cropped black hair and wore a blue v-neck shirt with jeans, and finally TJ, who was a dark skinned boy with a green beanie, orange sweatshirt, and green cargo pants.

All the students then piled onto the bus and took their seats. Danny and his friends, naturally moved towards the back. Everyone started talking immediately as both teachers sat near the front. The chaperones talked to the driver a bit and the bus started to move.

"This is going to be great," Sam beamed. "A week of being out in nature."

Tucker sighed. "Sounds terrible. And hiking? Are they _trying_ to kill me?"

"Aw come on, Foley. You need a bit more exercise." Valerie laughed a bit and twirled a bit of her hair.

"I hope we get a good view of the sky at least one night." Danny smiled and then stretched his arms behind his head.

"I wonder if we'll find a place to swim. It's finally starting to feel like spring." Valerie mentioned.

"I just hope no ghosts show up," Tucker spoke up and clicked a few buttons on his PDA.

"TUCK!" Danny, Sam, and Valerie yelped.

Tucker face palmed. "I'm an idiot."

zzz

**Amity Park.**

Dani sat in the den at FentonWorks, upside down, watching TV. She'd woken up early to say goodbye to Danny and his friends so now she was wide awake. She would flick between cartoons and the news from time to time to make sure no ghosts were causing trouble. She'd promised Danny that she'd watch after the town while he was gone but also be very careful. Of course she had Maddie, Jack, and Jazz too, at least once she arrived home for the break, but she was pretty sure she could handle it on her own if she had to.

Her parents were in the lab at the moment, working on something. They'd told her to warn them if she was wanting to come into the lab since the materials they were working with could harm ghosts. She hadn't really asked questions after that. What she did know though, was that she was bored. SOOOOOOOO bored.

**-Ring ring- -Ring ring-**

"I'll get it!" Dani yelled so that her parents could hear and ran over to the home phone. She picked it up and heard Ash's voice.

"_Hey there Dani."_

"Oh hey, Ash. What's up?" She was a little surprised that he was even up at this hour. _Jace probably pried him out of bed._ She thought.

"_Uh, me and Jace were wondering if you wanted to hang out since it's Spring Break. We could go to the Arcade or something."_

Dani paused. She wasn't sure how to react. Sure she'd hung out with the two boys at school and the Nasty Burger, but she hadn't ever actually hung out with them much outside of school.

"_Dani? You there?"_

Dani blinked. "Oh uh yeah… Let me ask my parents. Sounds fun!" Dani put down the phone carefully and ran towards the lab shouting for her parents.

"Mom! Dad!" She started down the stairs only for Jack to halt her and scoop her up effortlessly. He hurried back up the steps to the lab with Dani blinking in confusion. Jack put her down and looked her over before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Dani, ya got to warn us. You feel okay?" Jack asked. Moments later, Maddie hurried up towards them.

"Yeah dad… I'm fine." Dani laughed a bit and frowned.

"Sorry sweetie. The compounds we are using are deadly to ghosts… as weird as that sounds. It could destabilize you even getting close to them!" Maddie expressed and then felt a bit of guilt when Dani's face paled.

"Destabilize?" Dani whispered and rubbed her arms.

"Oh Dani… I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, but that's what me and Jack are trying to figure out. We need to discover a antidote for this material." Maddie added.

"Oh…" Dani nodded and then took a breath and smiled.

"What was it you needed, Ellie?" Jack smiled brightly. Ellie had been the nickname that Jack had eventually come up with for his new daughter.

"Oh!" Dani exclaimed. "Ash and Jace wanted to hang out. Can I go meet them?"

Maddie and Jack smiled and nodded. "Be careful, have fun, and your curfew is ten thirty."

"Awww Danny's is twelve!"

"He's older sweetie."

"Okaaay~" Dani nodded and then said goodbye before running back to the phone. "You there?"

"_Oh uh, yeah!"_

"I can come, where do you guys wanna meet?"

"_How about the Nasty Burger in ten minutes?"_

"Can do! Bye!" Dani hung up the phone and grabbed her backpack, which had her phone her parents had gotten her, some money of hers, and a Fenton Thermos. She then ran out the door and into an alleyway to transform and fly towards the Nasty Burger.

She transformed back into Fenton and walked towards the doors of the restaurant and entered. She knew it would be a few minutes before the other two boys would get there so she went up to the counter and bought herself a soda. She then sat on a stool and waited for her friends.

"Dani!"

Dani perked up and smiled when she saw Ash and Jace walk in wearing their typical clothing.

"You're so fast. How do you always beat us to places?" Ash grinned and scratched his head.

"Perhaps she doesn't take forever getting dressed… Why you would want to look good for a trip to an Arcade is beyond me…" Jace glanced purposefully at Ash then Dani. Dani blinked and Ash growled.

"Shut up, man."

Jace only grinned back. "What?" He faked innocence easily.

"You can be such a jerk."

Dani laughed and walked over. "Let's get going! I wanna beat you guys at Zombie Fighter Five."

Ash glanced at her and rose a brow. "Whoa now, who said you'll be winning?"

Dani frowned and then narrowed her eyes. "Is this what Sam was warning me about? You think I can't play video games because I'm a girl?"

Ash's eyes got wider. "Oh no wait. I wasn't-"

Dani grabbed his wrist and started dragging him towards the exit. "Come on! I hope you're ready to have your butt handed to you!"

After Ash and Dani had disappeared Jace rolled his eyes. "Lovebirds."

zzz

**Amity Mall. Arcade.**

"Wait, how, when, where?"

"What? You don't know any five button combo moves? If you wanna even try getting competitive on this game you've got to know some of the finishers."

Ash frowned as his zombie's head was torn off, losing him the match.

"And that's fifteen to zero."

Ash shook his head and then laughed loudly. "Man, I've never been beaten so badly." Dani paused and blinked at him. Ash finished his laugh and then glanced at Dani with his eyes dancing. "I'm so glad I ran into you in the hallway." Dani felt her cheeks warm as she continued to blink at her friend. Ash was too busy looking at her happily before his brain suddenly caught up. He blushed fiercely and put a hand on his head as he looked at the ceiling. "You know… since you're such a good friend. I feel like I could tell you anything."

Dani flinched and glanced down at the ground with a bit of shame. "Anything?"

Ash shook his head. "Sorry, that sounded really corny."

Dani shook her hands. "No no. It's fine, really. I'm glad you trust me so much."

"TAKE THAT BLINKY! HA HA! THE ORANGE IS MINE!"

Dani and Ash paused and turned to look over at where they'd left Jace. He was staring at the Pacman machine carefully twisting and moving the joystick in his left hand.

"Pacman?" Dani asked and then giggled. "I think there's enough ghost hunting going on in Amity Park as it is."

"Don't interrupt him. Jace is like a master at that game. It's like he becomes a different guy when he plays it. It is funny to watch though." Ash grinned and then laughed with Dani. Finally Jace stopped and straightened up before combing his fingers through his slightly disorganized brown hair to neaten it. He glanced over at the other two. "Were you watching me again?"

Ash laughed a bit. "Uh… maybe?"

"You get really excited over that game," Dani giggled.

Jace smiled at them both. "Me and my father used to play that game together a lot. He's a bit busy now, but playing it makes me happy." He grew distracted from his explanation since he'd noticed a speck of lent on his polo and tried to pick it off.

Ash noticed and snorted. "Neat-freak."

Jace glared up at his friends after the offending lent was gone. "There's nothing wrong with wanting one's environment to be orderly."

"Yeah Ash, stop teasing Jace about his issues," Dani spoke and then walked off. Jace deadpanned and Ash scratched his head.

"Hey, wait!" Ash yelped and ran after her. Jace sighed, smiled and followed after them more slowly.

Ash ran up beside Dani and Jace joined him soon after. "So want do you guys wanna do now?"

"Hmmm… Wanna go get smoothies or something?" Before either Ash or Jace could reply a scream tore through the mall. Dani felt a cold breath of air leave her mouth. "Dang it."

"What the heck was that?" Ash gasped mentioning the scream.

As if the universe was wanting to answer him, a ghost that looked like a Were-wolf but was definitely not Wulf pounced out from behind a small stand. More people started to scream.

Ash grabbed Dani's wrist and turned swiftly before starting to run. Jace turned with them and ran for cover as well. Dani glanced back behind them at the ghost and saw it turn to glare at a woman and a young child. Her face grew determined and she waited until they were someplace safe before using intangibly and invisibly to slip out of Ash's grasp and run to a changing booth to transform. She shot out towards the woman and child who had become cornered. She snatched them away right before the ghost's jaws could snap down on them.

Back in a store down the way, Ash and Jace were just noticing that Dani was gone.

"I had a hold of her hand! Where'd she go!?" Ash asked worriedly and started looking all around. Jace tried to speak but Ash ran out from behind cover before he could. Jace ran out to try and stop his friend, but the damage had already been done. The Were-wolf ghost turned and locked its eyes on Ash and Jace, Ash's white hair was bright in the ghost's vision. It charged, snarling.

Dani finished putting down the lady and her child, only to turn and see Ash freeze in the ghost's line of sight. Jace was trying to move his friend and was also in danger since he wouldn't just leave his friend behind.

"Ash! Jace!" Dani yelled and shot forward. "RRRAAAHH!" She crashed into the side of the Were-wolf and forced him off his path and into a nearby wall. The sound of both ghosts hitting the wall snapped Ash out of his daze and he let Jace lead him away.

Dani blasted the beast with a few good ecto blasts and dodged a swipe of his claws before freezing him solid and sucking him up in the thermos. Someone ended up asking her where her cousin had been and she said he was busy with something and would be away for a little while. Once she was done, she flew back to a secluded place and then transformed. She needed to find Ash and Jace.

"…I…I don't understand."

Dani froze and slowly turned to look over her shoulder. There was Ash and Jace staring at her, eyes wide. Jace was deathly pale and Ash was frozen in mid speech.

"You're Dani Phantom?"

zzz

**FentonWorks.**

Dani was pacing back and forth, back and forth in her living room. Two sets of eyes were watching her closely, trying to understand what they'd just seen. Her parents were out, having left a note that they'd gone to the store.

"I'm so dumb… I mess everything up… Danny's going to kill me… He'll hate me forever… He warned me about this." Dani mumbled to herself as she paced.

Jace was still pale and Ash was shaking slightly. Right after they'd spoken at the mall, Dani had practically spirited them away to her house against their will. They both flinched when the door opened.

"I'm home! Hello?"

Dani perked up and looked over at the door to see Jazz walk through.

"Dani? Oh! Are you're friends over? Where's mom and dad?"

"Thank God you're here!" Dani yelped and ran over to hug her sister. She beckoned her lower so she could whisper in her ear.

"YOU WHAT!?" Jazz yelled.

Dani shrank back in alarm. Jazz calmed herself and sighed. She then walked over to sit in front of the two still frightened boys and smiled. As Dani came to sit somewhere close by, Jazz sighed.

"Boys, you don't need to be afraid. Settle down and let me tell you one doozy of a story. What I'm going to tell you is really important so please try and pledge secrecy on the matter."

Ash and Jace looked at each other and then Jazz.

"Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, myself, and Danny all know these things."

The two seemed to relax a bit and gave one more look towards Dani who was rubbing her hands together and averting her eyes. Honestly Jazz was nervous too, but she was trying to act calm so as to help subconsciously alleviate some of the two younger boys' own anxiety.

"It started when my parents wanted to poke a hole into another dimension. They call it a Ghost Portal."

zzz

**Joliet, Illinois. 7:30 AM.**

"Where are we now?"

"According to my PDA, just south of Chicago in a little place called Joliet."

Danny yawned. "I hope we stop soon. I'm hungry."

Tucker, Sam, and Valerie laughed right as Danny's stomach growled.

"That's probably my ghost half talking."

"Well tell him to be a bit patient."

Danny snickered right before a wall ball smacked into his head, forcing it back some.

"Nice catch, dweeb!"

Danny growled and looked up with his friends to see Dash and Kwan laughing. Danny growled a bit and he could feel the ectoplasm heat up behind his eyes, before he closed them and took a breath. He exhaled completely and then inhaled slowly.

"Danny?" Sam asked.

"I'm just calming myself. Don't worry," Danny replied and opened his blue eyes.

"Okay students!"

Everyone glanced at the front as they felt the bus come to a stop. Lancer was standing up and looking at them.

"We're stopping here for breakfast. There are a few establishments within walking distance, so choose whatever you wish. The rules are, don't go alone and come back close to nine. That's when we'll be leaving. Understand?!"

"Yes, Mr. Lancer." Everyone called out with innocent grins on their faces.

"Then hustle!" Mrs. Telstaff exclaimed.

The students leapt up and headed out of the bus. Oddly enough, it was like the students split into three groups. Dash, Kwan, Paulina, Star, Dinah, Lesley, Tyson, and Alroy formed a group and walked to a nearby Nasty Burger to get something from their breakfast menu. TJ, Brad, Stan, John, and Freddie made their way to a breakfast joint. Finally Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie walked off towards a place Tucker had spotted called Danny's which made breakfast, lunch and dinner meals. Brandon, Lester, Norman, and Mikey wandered off after them. Melanie was left alone and watched the three groups walk off.

"Ya coming… uh… you're name's Melanie, right?"

Melanie looked up in surprise and saw Danny looking back at her over his shoulder. His hand was holding Sam's.

"Me?"

"Ya. I mean… Mr. Lancer didn't want anyone going anywhere alone. You're free to join us."

"Yeah we don't bite." Tucker joked.

"Much." Sam added with a smirk.

Melanie slowly nodded her head and gave a tiny smile before hurrying to catch up to the group. The nine of them walked inside. Danny licked his lips and rushed up to the counter.

"Geez and I thought I liked meat!" Tucker exclaimed.

"What's with Danny?" Mikey asked.

"He's uh… just really hungry. He eats a lot." Sam answered.

"He doesn't look like he eats a lot," Norman added skeptically.

"His metabolism is super fast." Valerie answered quickly. Sam and Tucker gave her a pleased look.

"Whoa! They have french toast!"

Everyone except Danny, who was ordering his third breakfast side, turned to looked at Melanie.

"Oh sorry… was that annoying?" Melanie whimpered.

"No way, French Toast is always something to get excited over." Tucker replied.

"You like French Toast too?" Mikey asked timidly.

"Who doesn't like Fren-Oof" Tucker started only to get elbowed by Valerie.

Melanie smiled at Mikey and vice versa as everyone continued to order their breakfast. Eventually they got their food and all sat at a couple of tables close to each other.

"My word… I think he could out eat half of the football team!" Brandon yelped.

Danny looked like he was hardly breathing as he inhaled his eggs and then a piece of bacon, which was probably true since Danny didn't need to breathe as often.

"Whoa, dude easy! I guess I need to get out of the splash zone," Tucker yelped as a bit of Hash Browns splattered onto his cheek.

"Danny! Slow down, cowboy. Take a breath." Sam laughed and pulled on the back of his shirt. He whimpered to the amusement of the others sitting there.

"Come on Sammm~"

"Take a few breaths and then resume."

"Hhh… fine."

"Hmm… thirty minute warning guys." Norman glanced up at everyone from his watch. After eating for a bit longer, the group paid and then made their way back to the bus. They got back a bit early so they stood and stretched their legs a bit longer. The others wandered off and bit and left Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie on their own near the side of the bus. Lancer was back from finding his own place to eat and noticed the four students talking.

"Does Tucker always jinx things?" Valerie asked.

"Most often," Sam replied.

"Hey! I resent that!" Tucker yelped.

"You've got to admit, Tuck. Almost every time you say something, a ghost pops up and then we all have to fix everything." Danny shrugged but gave Tucker a cheeky grin.

"Geez your confidence in me is overwhelming, dude."

"You think we all have enough equipment?" Valerie asked.

Danny laughed. "I think we have too much. After all, my parents go overboard if that isn't already obvious."

Before Valerie could reply, Tucker spoke. "I'm going to say that Danny jinxed us even more now. I'm calling it! To prove that I'm not the only jinxer! If my jinx happens and there is ghosts, then we'll end up not having enough equipment, so there."

"Sounds like real fun, Tucker," Sam deadpanned.

Lancer turned and leaned against the front of the bus where he was hidden. He was positive now, the four students were hunting ghosts in their free time. The remaining questions he had still lingered though. For starters how long had they been ghost hunters? Did the Fentons know? Did the other parents know? And how did the Phantoms come into the picture? This required more observation and study. He jumped practically a foot in the air when Telstaff blew her accursed whistle. Lancer sighed and calmed himself before preparing to do roll call again. Most everyone had wandered back in the meantime.

Everyone was accounted for and then they boarded the bus and started off again.

zzz

**Bus. St. Louis. 12:30 PM.**

"I'm hungry…"

"Danny… Why are you so hungry? I mean I'm glad you're actually eating like you need to, but usually you aren't. Why now?" Sam asked and looked at her boyfriend skeptically.

Danny paused and furrowed his brows in confusion. "I… huh. I don't know why. That's a good question. For some reason I feel like I just need to eat a bunch."

"Maybe it's because you're powers are getting stronger so you need the extra carbs… OH MAN!" Tucker yelped.

"What!?" Danny almost shouted back. Valerie and Sam looked at him, waiting.

"I lost my last life on Galaga. I was doing so good too…"

Danny hit his head against the empty seat in front of him a few times, Sam glared at Tucker and Valerie slapped the back of his head.

"Ouch!"

"You're going to give us a heart attack," Valerie warned, though it seemed to lack her normal impatience.

"Good news is we'll probably stop soon. It's Lunch time," Tucker replied and actually slipped his PDA into his pocket after laughing nervously at Valerie.

"Good," Danny replied, keeping his head on the cool leather seat.

"We could go to the Falafel House!" Tucker grinned. "They have some good food."

"I think we're all eating there as a class. Something about getting everyone to enjoy each other's company or something revolting like that," Sam grumbled.

"That's my Sam," Danny chuckled and leaned up straight before wrapping his arm around her.

"Hey Dash!"

The four looked forward as Tyson increased his volume.

"I dare you to go into the Wraith Mansion if it's nearby!"

"Tch, some dusty place, no big." Dash boasted.

"Dude! It's supposed to be haunted," Kwan added.

"Yep I wonder if it's haunted like Amity Park is," Alroy questioned.

"Dawg, my Auntie lives near St. Louis, that place is definitely haunted, yo." TJ grunted and folded his arms.

"Dude, you have to do it now," Tyson grinned.

"That would be so brave," Paulina spoke up and batted her eyelashes.

Danny sighed an rolled his eyes at the idea of walking into a ghost's territory. Most ghosts in old mansions just wanted to be left alone because they were attached to their home.

"Really? Are they that daft?" Sam huffed.

"What's the info on Wraith Mansion?" Valerie asked and leaned over to look at Tucker's PDA screen when he whipped it out.

"One moment… Here we go. Mostly it just says the normal things about family that once lived there remain there… Oh that's… Guys?"

"What?" Sam and Danny asked at the same time and looked over to see what Tucker and Valerie were staring at. He turned the device so they could see too.

"Does that kid look familiar?"

Sam was speechless and Danny was gulping for air. In the old time picture sat a younger Klemper, fleshy and very much alive, but Klemper.

"Klemper?" Danny whispered.

"What does it say?" Sam asked.

"It says the rumors say he was the head of the house's deformed brother. Supposedly he had down-syndrome. His name was Zack. They say they just locked him in the attic most of the time." Tucker frowned after he finished.

"That's…" Valerie started.

"Just wrong," Sam sighed.

Danny sighed and looked out the window. "Poor Klemper…"

"At least you've been warming up to him recently," Tucker grinned. "See what I did there…" Valerie looked at him with a deadpan expression, Sam rolled her eyes and Danny was smirking slightly and cocking a brow. "Cause he has… a cold… core? Oh come on, I can't be that bad at jokes!"

Danny laughed. "Naw, you're good man."

Sam elbowed Danny. "Don't encourage him!"

Danny laughed a bit more before he glanced at the ground. "But Klemper…"

"Maybe we could talk to his family?" Valerie asked and frowned when Danny shook his head.

"No most of the time _most _ghosts forget their human names for a reason. Even I kinda did. I did it half-way since I'm half-ghost. I kept Danny and used Phantom instead. We'd probably just be walking into a hornet's nest if we even tried anything." Danny sighed.

Before they could continue their talking, Lancer's voice cut over the voices of everyone there.

"Okay students! We'll be stopping soon for a good Lunch at the Falafel House. Stay together and behave while we eat. We want everyone to know that Casper High can act like civilized people, right?"

Most of the students said yes or grumbled it out. Soon afterwards, the bus stopped and everyone got out. Mr. Lancer and Mrs. Telstaff went to see if there was room for their group to sit and eat. Lancer came back and sighed. "We'll have to wait forty minutes to be seated, so you can all explore so long as you stick in groups and come back in forty minutes or so."

Most all the students sat down to wait, merely enjoying the chance to rest and stretch their legs. Danny and his friends were going to do the same until they saw Dash, Tyson, Kwan, Alroy, Paulina and Dinah walk off.

Danny groaned. "They're going to the Wraith Mansion aren't they?"

"Yep." Tucker spoke and popped the P.

"And they'll probably get some ghosts mad at them, right?" Sam grumbled and rubbed her temples.

"Yep."

"And we have to go and help them since we can't leave them to their own devices?" Valerie sighed.

"Yep."

"Alright, then let's go and get back so I can eat," Danny spoke and stood up. "You guys head that direction… I'll find a place to change."

The other three nodded and walked off behind Dash's group. Danny nodded and went to find a bathroom.

"May I use your bathroom while we wait?"

A clerk who was in charge of getting people seated nodded. "Of course, sir. Over there."

Danny smiled and walked off. Lancer hadn't heard anything the students had said, except for Daniel asking where the bathroom was. That took away any doubt he had had that Daniel was just going to the bathroom the skip class time. He did however see Dash's group wander off, with Daniel's friends trailing them. Maybe they were just curious about the ghosts from Wraith Mansion like Dash and his friends had mentioned in the bus… Having the deep suspicion that those four students were indeed ghost hunting made Lancer wonder how to approach the issue. Did he stop them if he thought they were off the hunt a ghost? If he was wrong about his theories it could come back in his face in more than one way. For now he'd have to keep watching.

zzz

**Wraith Mansion.**

"Dude, this place just looks like a dump," Dash muttered as he and his group stood on the steps.

"Then go in," Tyson grinned.

"That's trespassing if they're closed," Kwan spoke.

"Uh it's a bed and breakfast. They're never closed," Alroy spoke up.

"Let's go then. I wanna see if they have ghosts too," Tyson explained before nudging Dash.

Dash flinched and then scowled. "Fine, let's go."

"We'll be in the lobby, looking around," Paulina spoke and waved at the jocks. Dinah smirked venomously and rolled her eyes as the boys walked off.

"Guys are too easy to mess with," Dinah spoke to Paulina.

"Most anyways," Paulina grumbled.

"What you still hung up on that loser Fenton turning you down?" Dinah asked. "He just has bad taste. He's a loser, remember?"

"The school seems to be liking him though and the nerds and geeks are starting to flock to him and to his geek squad. We can't handle an uprising."

"Tch."

"Dinah, you didn't see him when he lead us against that pirate ghost. He was still a loser, but he can get people to listen when he tries hard enough."

"Don't sweat it, girl. It'll fade."

"Hopefully," Paulina grumbled.

A screech suddenly pierced the air just as a few more people ran up to the mansion's steps. Patrons started fleeing from the building.

"That sounded like Dash," Paulina whispered.

"He was dumb and decided to go mess with ghosts."

Paulina and Dinah whipped around to come face to face with Sam, Valerie, and Tucker.

"What are you doing here, Manson?"

"Well, we have ecto-weapons, so unless you wanna leave Dash and his buddies to the lions…"

"You're packing?" Dinah asked, eyes wide.

"Always," Valerie replied sharply.

"It's in the top floor… now three… five… It's got to be the whole Wraith family," Tucker expressed, typing on his PDA.

"Wait, Phantom!?" Paulina suddenly yelled. The five students looked up to see Danny Phantom swoop into the top of the building.

"Just get out of here, we know what we're doing," Sam snapped and then ran inside the practically empty building. Tucker and Valerie ran after her.

Paulina and Dinah stood there for a moment.

"Now what?" Dinah asked.

Paulina glowered. "I'm going to see Invisobil er… Phantom."

The two girls ran inside the building as well.

A few flights of stairs was what they all had to climb to get to the action.

Phantom was standing in front of a cowering blue ghost in pajamas, Dash and his crew were backed against the wall behind the two, looking pale, Sam was growling at the ghosts, Valerie was readying some sort of wrist weapon and Tucker was standing with his hand brushing over the handle of a ecto-gun that was now somehow in his pocket.

"You always mess everything up! You little wretch!" One of the ghosts yelled and wailed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorrrrryyyy!" Klemper wailed and sobbed behind Danny's legs.

Danny snapped, "Stop yelling at him! He was trying to help out."

"He should know better though!" One of the old ghosts grumbled. "You can't scare humans too bad or they come to chase you out!"

"Yeah, making it snow indoors and making the blond baby cry out was too much! Now they'll chase us form OUR home!" Another spoke.

"Hey!" Dash yelped, hurt at the blond baby jab.

Danny growled, ignoring the student. "You left him in an attic for most of his life! I honestly think you _deserve_ to be vacated!"

The eldest ghost in the family narrowed his eyes. "You have a large mouth on you, lad. You've only been dead for a few years and you come along and start demanding things of us!? We've been here for generations!"

"Generations!"

"Hundreds of years!"

They chorused.

Danny didn't flinch at their shouts. "How'd you know I've only been dead for a while?"

"You don't smell of death… It's a thing all ghosts can tell about one another in passing."

"Not that you ever will," Sam whispered to Danny who only shivered.

"That would be awkward," He whispered back and Sam had to fight back a laugh.

"Zack, get out," John suddenly spoke up.

Klemper whimpered. "But brother…"

Tucker frowned and spoke softly next to Valerie. "So he _is_ his brother."

"No buts! This is the final straw!"

Klemper wailed in torment. "No no no no no!" The ground started to get covered in ice and Paulina and Dinah let out a scream each as the door behind them froze solid.

Danny frowned and looked at the Wraith family. "Look maybe this is for the best… Obviously you're all obsessed with this home, maybe too much. Leaving might free you all. You can't possibility be behaving the way you used to in life."

John growled but then glanced at Kelmper for a moment before a sad look came to his eyes.

"You still love your family. Just try and let go and forgive one another…"

"Silence you! You don't know how long it takes to build a reputable living and family. The moment he came into our lives was the moment all our work fell apart!" One of the older specters grumbled.

Danny hissed and he could feel his eyes alight with energy.

"Leave now. We'll hide for years in the home if we must and then people will forget…" One of the older ladies spoke up.

"This isn't right," Danny replied.

"HE isn't right," The oldest ancestor replied again. That did it.

Danny lunged at the oldest ghost in the family and the two started rolling and fighting on the floor. The elder spirit obviously wasn't good at brawling like Danny was and continued to curse and shout as the two tussled. Sam and Valerie jumped into action and started to fire at the others that went to attack them. Tucker watched Danny a bit more closely and fire at any of the family that tried to double team Danny.

The old ghost roared and landed a solid rage fueled punch on Danny's chest, sending him flying backwards and slamming into the back wall between Dash and his friends.

"Phantom!" Klemper shouted in worry. "Friend!"

At the name Phantom, everything halted.

"Zack… did you say Phantom?" John whispered.

Klemper blinked and looked away before floating over to Danny who was standing up again and looking around in confusion. "Yeah, Phantom's… my friend."

Danny looked at Klemper and smiled.

"Phantom, the Bane of Pariah?"

Everyone glanced over at the family who was whispering and speaking to each other.

"Uh… I guess?" Danny replied.

The elder ghost flinched at Danny's voice but spoke. "You're wanting us to leave?"

Danny frowned. "Well I think it would be best. You can be free and your obsession may lessen. You're personalities would become less hostile. That and be nicer to Zack… That's what I'm asking for."

John looked like he was going to say something but the older ghost, the eldest spoke. "Fine, we'll leave as you say, Phantom."

In a flurry of movement and various shouts and cries, the Wriath family was gone.

"Bye," Klemper murmured.

Danny sighed and put a hand on Klemper's shoulder. "Sorry, Klemper…"

"It's okay. Family's a funny thing. It's not always what you think it'll be. That's the one thing I learned when I was alive," Klemper mumbled and smiled at Danny. "I'll see you around in Amity, Mr. Phantom. I hope you enjoy your trip!"

Danny flinched at Klemper mentioning a trip but smiled. "Yeah, see ya. I'll have to have you and Dani learn some more ice techniques soon."

"Oh boy!" Klemper laughed and then flew away and out of the home.

Danny concentrated as the ice in the room started to melt.

"Phantom?"

Danny glanced over at Dash's confused face while Sam, Tucker, and Valerie put up their weapons.

"Yeah?"

"What was that all about?"

Danny shrugged. "It's complicated… has to do with territory disputes and… cruelty." Danny glanced over at the jock purposefully, somewhat hoping that stress on the word _cruelty_ would penetrate the jock's skull. No such luck.

"What are you doing here then? Not that I'm not happy to see my hero."

Sam rolled her eyes at that.

"I'm taking a trip to visit some… ghosts…. Dani's got Amity Park in the meantime."

"Oh."

Danny grunted after that ice had melted. "Alright, bye then." He then flew through the roof to get back to the bathroom he'd changed in.

Sam, Valerie, and Tucker shrugged and walked out of the room to walk back to Falafel House.

"Since when do the geeks know how to use ghost weapons?" Alroy asked no one in particular.

"I don't know… something's up," Dinah huffed.

"And where was Fenton?" Dash grumbled.

Paulina narrowed her eyes. "Good question."

"Maybe we should tell Mr. Lancer that they have weapons," Kwan offered nervously.

"No way! If they haven't been caught with them before they won't now, plus then we'll never figure out what's going on," Tyson argued.

**-beep- -beep-**

"Oh uh guys, my watch says we need to get back. Our wait's up," Kwan spoke.

begrudgingly the six of them left and headed back for the restaurant.

zzz

**Falafel House. 1:10 PM.**

"These beef kabobs are awesome!" Tucker declared as he worked on his third skewer.

Sam frowned and popped another piece of falafel in her mouth. Danny noticed she wasn't enjoying watching Tucker eat so he decided to distract her.

"Can I try one?"

Sam paused and looked over to see Danny smiling at her. She smiled back at his attempt and then picked a piece from her plate to pass it to him. Instead of putting his hand out, he opened his mouth. She blinked before poking the falafel in his mouth. Danny hummed in pleasure before reaching over and sticking a chip into his hummus he'd ordered. He then reached over to her with it. Sam flushed a bit before opening her mouth and letting Danny do the same action to her.

"I'm glad I at least have a girlfriend. Otherwise I think I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from hurling at that mushiness," Tucker spoke suddenly, almost making Sam choke.

"Tucker, you seriously are the worst at timing," Valerie sighed and picked a piece of the meat on his half-finished kabob off the skewer. She ate it without a second thought.

"Wow, a subconscious indirect kiss."

Valerie froze and looked over at Sam in surprise who was smiling like a cheshire cat now that she'd stopped herself from choking.

Valerie blinked and then looked over at Tucker who actually blushed and looked away.

"Tucker acting shy? It's the end of the freaking world," Sam added.

Danny snorted at that. "Be careful what you wish for."

"I didn't say I wished for it."

"How about we don't even say that word, ever. It's safer."

Sam opened her mouth and then closed it. "You know… that's a good idea."

Everyone else at the clustered tables for the Casper High students were laughing and enjoying themselves greatly. As everyone continued to eat, Danny's four friends talked with the nerds, and the neutrals a good deal. The A-list talked with the neutrals but threw a few spoonfuls of food at the nerds and once at Danny who ducked in time.

Mr. Lancer had immediately halted the action from going further since he certainly wasn't going to let Casper High's name be spoiled on the trip down to the Ozarks at least. Once they were in the woods, he wouldn't burden himself as much, unless he saw a blatant issue.

"What are we even going to do in the mountains?" Dash asked suddenly.

"Well Mr. Baxter, we plan to hike, swim, participate in group activities and various other things one does when camping, what else?" Lancer asked with slight sarcasm.

After they finished eating and paying, everyone got up and was ready to get back on the bus after spending about an hour and a half in the restaurant.

zzz

**South of Springfield Missouri. 5:10 PM.**

It was around two and a half hours before they found themselves south of Springfield. There they found a few places to eat dinner. Eating dinner took around an hour to eat since those places weren't as busy. Mr. Lancer and Mrs. Telstaff then told the students that they would be stopping at a FloorStore for snacks. They were allowed thirty minutes to buy what they wanted to take on the trip.

It was there were Danny, Tucker, and Valerie were following behind Sam in surprise and gratitude as she explained everything they could and couldn't buy, what would keep for a week and what would go bad.

"We can get pasta and rice so long as we start a fire and can boil water. Dried fruits and nuts as well." Sam explained happily as they walked through the isles and picked up medium sized packets and boxes of the foods Sam was mentioning. She paused and looked over the three following her. "And then of course there's oatmeal and cream of wheat."

"I'm going to get jerky," Tucker suddenly said when he realized what was missing. Valerie sighed and disappeared with him to make sure he wouldn't buy too much.

"We can get granola bars too oh and water, tea and coffee," Sam spoke. She turned to see why Danny was so quiet when she saw him holding marshmallows, peanut butter, chocolate bars, and gram crackers. She smiled when he huffed.

"Do not tell my dad I did this or it will only encourage him."

"You really are like your parents."

Danny visibly flinched. "Ouch. How would you feel if I said that about you?"

"You'd never know, because you'd soon be dead."

Danny laughed nervously. "You mean all the way?"

"All the way, ghost boy."

Danny gulped. "I'll shut up now."

"Very good idea." Sam then smiled to make sure Danny knew to relax and that of course she was kidding. He only smiled back at her and then reached to grab at some of the bags burdening her.

"I don't need help."

"I know. Do you want it though?"

Sam sighed and then passed a bag to Danny. She glanced down at her watch. "Oh SNAP!"

"WHAT!?" Danny flinched and his body tensed due to his instincts.

"DANNY WE'VE LITERALLY GOT LIKE FIVE MINUTES TO CHECK OUT AND GET BACK TO THE BUS!"

Danny gulped and grabbed the other bags.

"I've got super strength just go with it this time find Tucker and Valerie and meet me at the check outlines!" Danny rambled, smashing the words into almost one continuous word.

Sam nodded, somehow able to understand him. He turned and dashed towards the front of the market while Sam dashed towards the back trying to find their other two friends. She skidded around a corner to find… them giving each other a kiss.

"Ugh… Next time I've got to remind me and Danny to go somewhere private. TUCKER VALERIE! WE'VE GOT TO GO! NOW!"

Tucker cried out in shocked and flailed before crashing into and pyramid of cans. Valerie was blushing like crazy from Sam finding them and then she face palmed before pulling Tucker out from under the tin cans. She practically drug her boyfriend through the store to find Danny at the counter. Valerie passed up the Jerky and a couple other dried meats Tucker had found before, up to Danny who then paid.

"Eidolon money?" Sam asked in a hushed whisper with a smirk playing on her lips. Danny only smiled.

Soon the four friends were running to the bus only to find something else was holding the whole group up.

"But But But…"

"No buts Paulina. There's no greek yogurt, no fresh fruits. We can't bring anything that can spoil without refrigeration." Lancer explained, exasperated.

It seemed like the A-listers and a few of the neutrals had make a few mistakes in picking out their food.

"Then what are we supposed to do with all this food?" Dash asked grumpily and crossed his arms.

Danny frowned and then looked over his shoulder to see a young homeless couple sitting on the side of the highway. He placed his bags down and walked over.

"Uh I have an idea."

"What kinda of idea could you possibly have, Fentonio?" Dash huffed.

Danny frowned and rolled his eyes right as Lancer spoke.

"How about we listen first Mr. Baxter, before we jump to conclusions." Lancer glanced at Danny. "Daniel?"

Danny looked over at the homeless couple and Lancer and the others followed his gaze.

"No way, Fenton. We paid for this stuff!"

Danny whipped his head around and had to really try hard not to make his eyes glow in anger. "So it would be a _waste_ of someone's money to _help_ them out?"

Sam stalked up and shoved money into Dash's and one of the neutral's hands. "There happy?"

Danny smiled at his girlfriend before he picked up the food and walked over to the couple. Everyone watched from a distance as the two people looked at each other and then Danny in surprise before a big smile crossed both their faces. They'd at least be able to eat most of it before it went bad. Soon Danny was walking back over with a large goofy smile on his own face.

"So let's get this show on the road."

"I've already put our sacks in the undercarriage," Valerie explained.

Danny nodded as Sam and Tucker moved with him to enter the bus. After a few more minutes, everyone was on board. The bus was a bit quiet as they drove off. It was most likely because the sun was starting to get low and everyone was tired. Most were talking quietly since everyone's energy was down. Danny did notice however that Dash was looking out the window with a scowl on his face. It wasn't one of anger however Danny noted from the emotions in the air, but one of deep thought.

zzz

**Ozark Camping and Hiking Park. 8:55 PM.**

Most everyone was half asleep when they finally got to the park. The four friends in the back looked like they were curled into one group hug. Danny's head was resting over Sam's, Tucker was face planting into Danny's arm, with his own arm around Valerie's shoulders, who's head had ended up in the crook of her boyfriend's neck.

Lancer announced they were finally there and that they would sleep in the emptied bunkers the pitstop provided until tomorrow to start hiking into the unknown. The boys and girls split up for the night. They got ready for bed so a good sleep could start them off on a good foot for the days of traveling ahead.

zzz

**Amity Park. 11:00 PM.**

A young figure ran through the alley ways, guarding a small glowing form. After trudging through the light rain shower that had come she found herself in front of FentonWorks.

**-Knock- -Knock- -Knock-**

Finally Maddie Fenton opened the door.

"Danielle Fenton! Where have you been!?" Maddie yelped when she saw her soaked younger daughter. The wet blue hood slipped off Dani's head and a sheepish grin stretched across her face. "Would you be surprised if I said it was a ghost's fault?"

Maddie frowned. "You called me earlier after you'd taken Jace and Ash home, after that whole debacle. You said you were on your way home." Jace and Ash had seemed to take the big secret pretty well, even though Jazz had not told them that Dani was a clone and that instead she'd been visiting when Danny had walked into the portal and gotten zapped herself as well. There were inconsistencies in Jazz's explanation but he older girl had doubted that the two boys would figure it that out.

"I know, but something came up!"

"Well come in and tell me what in the world was so important you had to give your mother a heart attack."

Dani gulped and wandered in. She plopped down on the couch which elicited a yelp from the lump in her sweatshirt.

Maddie cocked a brow.

Cujo's head then popped up next to Dani's in her sweatshirt and he licked her face. Dani giggled and Maddie opened her mouth in slight surprise.

"Can we keep him!?" Dani cried out in ernest. "Danny always said you guys wouldn't let him have a dog since it was dangerous for it to be around ectoplasm, but Cujo EATS ectoplasm. He could clean up the lab, I'd feed him and clean him and play with him! PLEASE MOM!?" Dani had almost squished poor Cujo at that point and was he squirming in Dani's arms.

Maddie's face went from surprised to amused.

"I guess you successfully found a loop-hole. I never told Danny we couldn't keep a dead dog."

* * *

><p><strong>What did you think? I thought it would be fun and a little original to describe the actual journey to the Field Trip's location.<strong>

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><p><span><strong>Answers to Questions:<strong>

**The Talent: I'm curious to know where you get the quotes for the beginning of every chapter. Do you already know them or look them up?**

**NoSignal: I look them up. It usually only takes a few minutes to find one though I'm very careful to. I want to make sure I choose a good quote to symbolize the chapter.**

**transmetaljohn: Also, in this chapter you mentioned that the Observants have the Ring of Rage in a vault. How did it get there? Pariah Dark was still wearing the ring when he was resealed, and Vlad still has the Skeleton Key which can open it. Do the Observants have some other method of getting the ring without releasing Pariah Dark? Considering what happened when Pariah was released, I can see why they would want to remove the Ring of Rage from him even though its useless without the Crown of Fire, but how they did it is the question. Do you have an explanation as to how the Observants got the Ring of Rage in their possession?**

**NoSignal: In one of the chapters, though it was brief, it mentioned that they had technology that allowed them to remove the ring from the sarcophagus. It's general really and actually for the overall story, it wouldn't matter if the ring was still in there or with the Observants. I just needed to spread out certain objects so that it would take longer for Malus to find them and thus make it a bit more likely it would take months for him to become a problem. :)**

**Great: PS I wonder will the ghosts follow Danny to the field trip or will they wreck havoc in Amity?**

**NoSignal: Hmm... I guess we'll have to see. ;)**

**NoSignal to Starlin's Ghost: Thanks once again for a wonderful review!**

**NoSignal to FantomoDrako and Kattyllin: Thanks so much! I'm so glad you like the story so much :) It makes me so proud and happy.**

**LunaTheBlackWolf: I wish there were more guys in the world like Danny. Most of the ones I know are like Dash; bunch of douches...**

**NoSignal: Yeah I wish there were more kind people than there are. But as the start of the story states: We can only control our own actions and not the actions of others. We must control our own behavior most importantly. :)**

**DuskWhite: So I know that blood blossoms were mentioned in chapter 12, but will they ever actually make an appearance in the story? (Love the story in general by the way! I read it in my free time and I really enjoy it!)**

**NoSignal: Yes I'm pretty sure they will. I'm kinda fuzzy about when they will, but they will. :) And thank you! I'm so glad you enjoy it.**

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><p><strong>Thanks everyone for your support and patience! I hope I can continue to entertain you :)<strong>

**~ NoSignal**


	14. Day One: Ozarks

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter.**

**The schedule is still a chapter every one and a half to two weeks.**

**I hope you enjoy this one.**

zzzz

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation

Mental thoughts or distant speaking

zzzz

"_True friends are those who came into your life, saw the most negative part of you, but are not ready to leave you…__"__ ~ Paraphrased from Michael Bassey Johnson._

zzz

"_Oh, you are not?! Using your powers to get back at people you don't like? Throwing the first punch? You are more like me than you know!"_

"_What's that? Is that- is that free will?"_

"_I think it's too late. Bye Danny… Thanks for…"_

"_Aha ha ha ha ha! Oh, you are such a child! You promised?"_

"_What? That I used two fifteen year old pawns to turn a knight and topple a king? It's chess Daniel. Of course you don't understand."_

"_But then, you never really did…"_

ooo

Danny woke up with a gasp and took a few deep breaths. It had been a while since he had had a nightmare like that and he worked to try and calm his anxious nerves quickly. It helped that Tucker was already sitting on his bed fiddling with his PDA until the dark-skinned boy had noticed his friend was awake.

"Oh good, I wasn't certain if I needed to wake you up. You were like squirming, but you weren't screaming like you have before. You okay, dude?"

Danny blinked at his friend before he smiled ruefully. "Yeah I'm good. Just an unpleasant nightmare. Nothing… big I guess." He looked around the bunker and noticed everyone else was sleeping soundly. "What time is it?"

Tucker smirked before he yawned. "Four fifteen in the morning. We're scheduled to leave here in a couple hours. Lancer should be up in another thirty or forty minutes."

Danny's face fell. "You didn't have to get up, Tucker. You've got to be tired."

"And you aren't?"

"Touche."

Tucker shook his head. "Dude it's okay. I mean yeah some more sleep would be nice, but I couldn't sleep when I felt you all emotionally distressed."

Danny blinked. "Wait, you felt…"

"I think our physic link thing we have with you and your telekinesis is getting stronger. I bet you like fifty bucks that Sam woke up and is worried. Valerie probably even felt something, even if she didn't wake up."

Danny looked down at the sheets around his waist and sighed before swinging his legs over the side. "I guess we get dressed before everyone?"

"Sounds good. I definitely want to get a shower in before everyone else and before we leave, since we won't be seeing indoor plumbing until the trip is over. See? No harm done. Your insomnia can be useful!"

Danny only chuckled lightly and smiled at his best guy friend with appreciation. "How about I let you go first. I won't even cheat like I do with Jazz and fly through the walls."

"Thank you for your kind consideration. I had planned on using a thermos to stop you."

"Tuck!"

Tucker only laughed as he disappeared into adjoining shower room. Danny started to gather his own clothes for the day and made sure to find the bug spray in his bag. Parachuting into Arkansas to return his parents' anniversary gift had taught him to never come to a place like this without it. He'd itched for a week. It wasn't ten minutes before Tucker came out and Lancer started to stir. Danny hurried off to take his own shower, while Lancer checked over the schedule. Norman and Brandon had started to wake up by then and were chatting with Tucker to get more awake.

Danny came out after that, drying his hair with a towel. Soon the rest of the boy's bunker started to stir and get up. It was somewhat odd, just because it was sorta peaceful. Either everyone was too busy trying to get ready or they were too tired to cause even a small amount of drama yet. Danny was sure it wouldn't last long, but it was enjoyable for the time being.

Lancer eventually opened the bunker's door, permitting students who were outside to mingle and vice versa. Sam immediately walked into the guys' bunker and spotted Danny before walking over.

"Are you okay?"

Danny smiled before Tucker spoke.

"Told ya dude." Danny frowned slightly and then looked back at Sam. He was interrupted again by Tucker.

"I had it. Just a nightmare is what he said," Tucker answered the girl's question before starting to stuff the last of his things in his large pack.

Sam rolled her eyes and looked at Danny. "Is that true?"

Danny smiled again and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine Sam. I was surprised to wake up to Tucker sitting on the foot of my bed, but yeah I'm good."

"Nightmare?" Valerie asked once she walked up. She glanced over to see Tucker trying valiantly to cram one last bit of clothing into his pack; he'd started trying to jump on the pack to close it. She smiled fondly and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah it happens. I think I would be worried if I didn't have them from time to time," Danny spoke and then yawned. "We still have coffee?"

Sam smiled. "Wanna cup?"

"Oh please. Me too," Valerie nodded.

So the four wandered outside after Danny had subtly used his super strength to pack his and Tucker's hiking packs. They placed their four bags in a pile as they started to kindle one of the pits in the encampment. It would be another thirty minutes before everyone gathered to hear what their plans were for the day as well as the rules while they were in the wilderness.

Sam had pulled out the coffee, powered creamer and sugar while they waited for the water they'd gotten from one of the faucets to boil. Soon the four friends were drinking coffee, Sam and Valerie had theirs black, Danny had a bit of cream in his and Tucker had dumped a tad too much cream and sugar into his for any of his friends' tastes. They ended up even fixing a cup for Mr. Lancer, Mrs. Tetslaff, Norman, and Richard. Danny had thought he'd seen Paulina and Dinah look at their pot longingly, but wouldn't be caught dead receiving hand-outs from the losers.

Danny and his friends were able to put up their pot and everything, by the time everyone had gathered. They pulled out their own granola bars for energy and slipped a bottle water each into the pockets on the sides of their packs.

Mr. Lancer and Mrs. Tetslaff got everyone's attention and started to talk. Mrs. Tetslaff started talking first.

"Alright ladies." The guys in the large group all frowned in annoyance when she didn't add, gents. "This is what we're going to do for today! I know this trail like the back of my hand, so for the first day, we're going to travel, with some breaks at predetermined times, before we reach a meadow next to the trail that is a well known place to set up tents. This is where we'll stop for the night."

She paced a bit and turned sharply to face them once more. "Here are some important tips. First, make sure you're wearing some kind of bug spray or deterrent, unless you want our time together to be the worst days of your life."

Paulina raised her hand and Mrs. Tetslaff sighed. "Yes, Sanchez?"

"But bug spray is greasy and smelly and gets in my moisturized hair." Star, Megan, Lesley, and Dinah all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Tough shi-" Tetslaff started but then saw Lancer send her a glare. "Tough stuff, missy! It's either the grease or the welts, your choice."

Paulina pouted in frustration as Tetslaff continued. "Now where was I, oh yes! Poison Oak and Poison Ivy is next." She looked over everyone. "Can anyone tell me what Eastern Poison Ivy looks like?"

Sam immediately raised her hand.

"Yes, Manson?"

"The plant tends to have groups of three leaves going up the branch complete with leaflet stems. The leaves have serrated type edges as well. The vines do not twine up trees and have hairy appendages that are aerial roots."

Tetslaff smiled slightly. "Exactly correct, Manson. Now anyone know about Eastern Poison Oak?"

Norman rose his hand next.

"Yes Mr. Brown?"

"They are short shrubs that have leaves shaped similarly to oak leaves, however they had downy hairs that make it look velvety. They tend to be found in gravely areas."

"Very good. Next, I hope everyone brought some sunscreen. Fourth, When we stop at certain places and find sources of water there are some things to remember. First, always… ALWAYS boil your water. Unless you want to be puking out your guts and-or getting a case of the backdoor trots, Boil boil boil! Now another thing that's more of a preference is to make sure to get clear water. You can boil muddy water and make it drinkable, but it will be warm muddy water no matter how much you boil it. Clear water, boiled, will taste better. In my opinion though, some mud gives it flavor!"

Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie all shared a withering glance as Tetslaff rambled on. The four of them knew these things, mostly from either experience or necessity.

"Next, buddy system. Make sure to stay with at least one other person. I single human being can survive on their own, but their sanity might not if left in the wilderness for too long."

Tetslaff put her hands on her hips. "Do not approach wild animals. We are not visiting a petting zoo. Be mindful of snakes that are quite amazingly camouflaged in this environment. Do NOT eat any plants or mushrooms of any kind unless you have permission from one of us after properly identifying the specimen. I think Lancer said something about this being possible extra credit for any of the science courses." She gave everyone a hard look.

"Last but not least… EVERYONE, will be carrying their own weight. We have quite a ways to go, but by the end of this trip you will know a sense of satisfaction from having conquered this trail! UNDERSTOOD!?"

Everyone nodded.

"UNDERSTOOOD!?" Tetslaff tried again.

"UNDERSTOOD!" Everyone yelped back.

"Good, Mr. Lancer… anything you want to add?"

Lancer coughed and stepped forward. "Well you already heard about identification being a possibility for extra credit for science courses. I've taken the liberty of also making my own idea for english courses. If you'd like a fifteen point increase in your marks, I would like a short piece of writing or a poem that reflects the spirit of Henry David Thoreau or Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is due the Wednesday after we get back home. That's all... Oh! And behave."

Everyone nodded at that as everyone else who hadn't pulled their packs onto their backs, did so. Lancer and Tetslaff did the same. With Tetslaff taking the lead and Lancer trailing to the back, the group made off towards the trail.

"Onward, to the rawness of the wilderness!"

Danny sighed through a smile that was on his face. He was hopeful that sometime during the trip and after, he could rack up some of those bonus points for his grades. He'd learned quite a bit about plants from Sam, sometimes voluntarily and other times involuntarily. He'd gained a bit of interest in botany after the whole fiasco with the Blood Blossoms in Salem and wanted to make sure there weren't any other plants or things that could harm a ghost. The only other flower that did damage, that they knew of, was the legendary Aglaophotis, a supposed member of the peony family. During their own studies, they'd actually gotten the opportunity to learn about some of the foliage of the Ghost Zone as well. Turns out the Lotus trees mentioned in Homer's Odyessy are somewhat abundant there, making lost travelers, desperate for the fruit, more likely to stay in the Zone until a ghost or the zone itself drained them of their life. There was Man-eating trees and Vampire Melons too. There was also Raskovnik plant which allowed ghosts to unlock or uncover anything, if they were fortunate enough to discover a large patch of it; sort of like a temporary one use Skeleton Key. During their time of learning all these things, Sam had even added Ghost plant or Indian pipe plants to her greenhouse. Even Tucker had thought it was neat, given his aversion to plants and vegetables in general. As for the writing Danny could do for English, well… Danny could be pretty deep when he wanted to be. It shouldn't be too much to get a good deal of credit from these opportunities.

"Sometimes Tetslaff reminds me too much of my Aunt Alicia…"

"Now that would be embarrassing. To run into her…" Tucker murmured.

"Don't even joke about that," Danny hissed.

Tucker only smiled as the four fell into a comfortable pace close but not at the back of the line of students.

zzz

**Amity Park. 10:00 AM.**

"So what's it like, you know… to fly?"

Dani paused from her next bite into the Nasty Burger she was holding. She was hanging out with Ash and Jace and they'd been awkwardly but slowly starting to get used to the idea of knowing Dani Phantom. Jazz had informed her that it would possibly take a bit of time, since Ash and Jace didn't have history with her like Sam and Tucker had had with Danny before his own accident.

"Flying?" Dani asked and stared down at her dripping burger in thought.

"Yeah you know, like flipping through the air and stuff," Ash continued. Jace was quiet and simply listening. He could be very observant at times; it seemed to be his defense mechanism to most things he was intellectually unfamiliar with. Unlike Jazz, who flipped out regarding things she didn't know or got wrong, Jace got very quiet and serious and would ask questions only when needed.

"Flying is… well… I think you'd have to ask Danny about that… I mean…" Dani was slightly panicking. She'd been _born_ with the ability to fly, being a half-ghost since birth. Danny would be the one that could say what the difference between not flying and being given the ability to fly was like. She had to say something though. "Well… The best way I can describe it is that it's like swimming only you don't have to hold your breath. It's much colder thought than being in the water, especially the higher in the air you go."

Ash nodded and popped a fry into his mouth. "What about ice powers? Can you make stuff with it? Like swords and weapons and things?"

"Well technically yes, but I'm still learning to do some of that from Danny…"

"How come he got a handle on his powers quicker than you?"

Another tough question. Dani racked her brain for something, anything. She smiled and perked up when she found a reasonable answer. "He had his friends and sister to help him practice and test his abilities. When I went back home to Arkansas after visiting, I had no one to help me, so I got behind in my abilities. Danny's been a great help though."

Ash smiled. "I'm starting to understand why you didn't mind my white hair now." He gave her a mischievous smirk which caused Dani to blush, though she didn't understand what that meant. Jace sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Well yeah…"

"It also explains why you thought I was your brother when we bumped into each other."

"Yep."

Ash nodded and looked over at Jace who smiled. Ash glanced back at Dani with a grin. "Well what do you think your brother and his friends would say to having a couple new members to Team Phantom? Or is that too much to ask, being the noobies and all?"

Dani looked at them in surprise. She'd had the slight worry that they had come here to hang out because they were scared of her and what she'd do if they stopped talking to her. She'd been partially expecting them to maybe say that they'd keep her secret but didn't want to be her friend anymore. This question was definitely a surprise.

"Part of Team Phantom?"

Jace shook his head and elbowed Ash. "I told you you'd be jumping into things too quick. There's no way-"

"Of course!"

Jace and Ash froze and blinked at their friend. Jace opened his mouth. "Wait what?"

Ash grinned like a cheshire cat and glanced at Jace sideways. "What was that Jace? Did you hear that? I think she let us into Team Phantom."

Jace grumbled something that sounded like, '...preventing Ash and his ego from growing like a weed.'

"Of course Danny will probably flip out and try to tell you all the horrible ways you could die to make you reconsider since he's so afraid of someone getting hurt and Sam will probably give you a few death threats to make sure you stay quiet. Jazz will try to give you a silly code name and mom and dad will most likely make you feel awkward in some way… Cujo will probably slobber all over you..." She looked back at them after staring at the ceiling. "But other than that… I'd love you guys to be apart of my world."

Jace smiled and Ash grinned. "Do we get to shoot stuff?" Jace slapped the back of the boy's head.

"Do you have to always be an imbecile?" Jace asked in frustration.

Ash grabbed the bottle of ketchup and turned before squirting a bit of it at Jace's shirt.

"ACK! ASHTON P. KAPPEL, YOU ARE THE MOST ANNOYING- HEY WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE RUNNING OFF TO!?"

Ash had yanked Dani out of the chair after his trick and ran out of the door of the restaurant, seeing that they'd already paid for the fast food.

After a couple blocks, the two stopped and bent over to catch their breath. They'd both been laughing the whole way.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Ash snickered.

"Yeah, like DUR!" Dani replied and made a face of shock.

They waited quietly and caught their breath some more before Dani spoke again.

"Do you think he'll find us soon? Or should we go back and get him?" Dani asked.

Ash blinked. "Are you mad!? He'll figure out some ingenious way of embarrassing the crap out of us. The only way I've ever kept my head above water for knowing him for so long is because I can surprise him."

Dani smirked. "Are we admitting, Mr. Kappel, that we aren't quite as clever?"

Ash flushed red in embarrassment. "I'm clever! Just not… you know… strategically so."

Dani laughed and then Ash started to laugh more softly.

"Okay, okay, we'll go find him. He'll probably be at a laundry mat. He can't walk around for more than five seconds with that shirt on so long as it's stained," Ash spoke.

"That's very true. Except when in fact I'm not forced to wear _that_ shirt."

A water balloon smashed into the back of Ash's head after the two teens heard the voice. Water dripped down the back of Ash's neck and back along his spine and sides, even his rear and pant legs were soaked. His face turned tomato red in embarrassment, coupled with frustration.

"Have an accident, Ashton?" Jace asked as he stepped out to where they could both see him. There was no stain on his shirt.

"How'd-" Dani started.

"I anticipated his antics. I have a spare shirt in my satchel," Jace replied swiftly.

Dani narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you're good…"

"It's a called a backpack, Jason K. Eldridge…" Ash murmured.

"Oh so now we're using full names. Am I in trouble?" Jace asked and batted his eyelashes.

"You started it! You used my full name first," Ash replied.

Dani started to laugh at their bickering, until she gasped and a wisp of blue ice came from her mouth. Both boys turned to face her.

"Huh-oh."

"Yes Huh-oh indeed Ghost girl!"

The three kids whipped around to look at the darkened alley behind them. In moments a strange robotic being emerged from the shadows. He was mostly grey with some blue and green accents. He had a lean build with sharp shoulders, fingers, and boots. His design was similar to the Red Huntress' armor and his head was shaped similarly, only much thinner. Two green eyes glowed within the Y shaped opening on the helmet and a tiny brain floated in the liquid housed in the top of the helmet's shape.

Dani furrowed her brows and scratched her head as she transformed.

Jace and Ash shared a look. "Still going to have to get used to that." Jace only nodded.

"Who the heck are you, Tin can?" Dani spoke and floated off the ground some as she pulled her thermos from her discarded bag.

The robot watched her carefully and didn't seem worried about her holding the thermos.

"Of course you would not recognize me… I am Technus 3.0, Master of all Technology." Right after he'd spoken, Technus aimed his arm at Dani and fired a laser beam. It struck the young half's chest and sent her plowing into Ash and Jace and forcing them to tumble onto the street.

Dani gasped when she saw that Jace and Ash were semi-hurt and trying to stand. Technus was already aiming again, only this time rockets popped up on either side of his arm. She flung up a ectoplasmic shield at the last moment as the rockets exploded against it.

Dani was confused. Technus? Technus was funny, blabbed on about his schemes, was sometimes as easy as point and suck with the thermos. Technus wasn't… like this.

"Technus? Is that really you? What happened!?" Dani yelled.

Technus only smirked with his eyes, since he had no mouth. "Ah ghost girl, why… I've updated. Mellowed out even more of my lingering human emotions. I've also gotten better at not saying what my plans are. Like right now, other than destroying you… I will not disclose what my next course of action will be."

Dani blinked in worry. "Crap… this isn't good."

"Dani? Who's the pin head?" Ash asked.

"PIN HEAD!? PIN HEAD!? WHY YOU LOATHSOME CHILD! HOW DARE YOU!?"

Jace glared at Ash. "Nice… make the robot with the genus level intellect, whose carrying as many rockets as the U.S. military, even more driven to make us nothing more than a stain on the street."

"Guys, not now!" Dani yelped as Technus started to fire his laser beam at the shield. The place it struck started to heat up and cause a orange melting spot to appear. "Yikes!"

It was then the three kids as well as the civilians who were hiding nearby, heard the screech of tires and saw the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle tearing down the street. The RV stopped and Maddie and Jack jumped out, guns blazing and hoods up.

"Get ready to meet Fenton Bazooka, you Technological Terror!" Jack yelled out.

"Ash, Jace, honey… Go to Jazz in the RV, she'll help you. Ms. Phantom," Maddie spoke, addressing her daughter as Phantom in public, and aimed her double blasters.

"Yes?"

"You ready to fight and are you aware of which ghost we're facing? This one doesn't look familiar."

"MORTAL FOOL! I AM TECHNUS 3.0, MASTER OF ALL TECHNOLOGY!"

Maddie blinked behind her googles. "Technus?"

"He updated," Dani sighed.

"Very well," Maddie nodded.

"BONZAI!" Jack suddenly roared and started to fire. Technus growled and jetted out of the way of the blasts, using the jets hidden in his feet.

Maddie dashed forward, into the fray as she tried to actually hit the ghost with her _slightly_ better aim. She landed a few good hits, as Dani flew up and started to fire ice beams at Technus' feet, hoping he'd crash to the ground without his jets.

Inside the RV, Jazz, Ash, and Jace watched the battle, once Jazz had checked their minor injuries.

"So we just sit here?" Ash asked.

"Well, I'm not trusted with the thermos for a few good reasons…" Jazz murmured but then smiled. "I've got to keep you guys out of trouble though."

"We wanted to join you," Jace explained. "Join Team Phantom."

Jazz looked at them both in slight confusion and then worry. "I can't really be the one to… I mean it's not like a club."

"We know. The risks are high, but we still want to help," Jace returned.

"Yeah! Dani's doing it." Ash gestured out the door. The three grimaced when Technus fired a batch of rockets at Dani and caused her to crash into the storefront she had been fighting in front of.

"She also is super durable and has super powers," Jazz replied.

"Yeah? Sam, Tucker, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton and even you fight sometimes."

"We have experience."

Jace frowned and looked at Ash. "She has a valid point Ash. As much as I want to… we can't just jump in and help. We might become a hinderance."

Ash furrowed his brows in determination after he watched Dani fighting so more. She was sweating and dirty now; some of her hair had slipped from her hair-fix and was getting into her face as she flew and fired large blasts of ectoplasm at Technus.

"We have to start somewhere though," Ash expressed in ernest before grabbing what looked like a weapon and running out.

"Oh damn it all, Kappel!" Jace growled and grabbed something himself before bolting out of the RV and past Jazz. She remained sitting and blinking in surprise. Her eyes drooped.

"Why do I even try anymore?"

Jazz leapt up and snatched the Fenton Peeler before running outside.

Ash was firing a wrist ray at Technus who either easy dodged or barely felt the small weapon's blasts. Jace was trying to figure out how the Jack-o-ninetails worked.

Technus eventually got annoyed by the wrist ray's tiny attacks and turned away from Dani, Jack, and Maddie to face Ash, Jace, and Jazz.

"Child! You are barking up the wrong tree, dawg."

Ash froze and blinked before looking at Jace. "Is this guy serious with his lingo?" Jace only shrugged.

"I guess that's one thing of yours that didn't upgrade!" Dani shouted before she successfully took out Technus' feet jets and made him crash to the ground. He growled before glaring at Ash.

"You distracted me, child. You will pay!" Technus rose his hand as Jazz and Jace dove out of the way into two separate shelters, behind the RV and an overturned car. A flash of light and an explosion later, Ash was gone.

"NOO!" Dani cried out in horror and grief as her green eyes started to burn green with emotion.

"Foolish child. Now you, Dani Phantom, will be distracted by those silly human emotions you try so hard like some ghosts to hold onto."

Dani growled before she roared and blasted Technus right in the chest, forcing him into the ground. She kept up the attack until Technus was able to fight some and aim an arm at her.

"Prepared to be ended, girl!" A blast from the side surprised everyone fighting. It forced Technus to miss his laser's shot since it'd struck his arm. "What!?"

Everyone looked over and saw Ash was standing near the alleyway, the side of his shirt was burnt. "I don't think so."

"Take this, ghost!" Jack shouted and fired. The bazooka's shot hit it's mark and Technus howled as his body was sucked into the tiny hole to the Ghost Zone that had been formed. Jace and Jazz popped out from behind their shelters as Dani flew down to the earth and stared at Ash, who was smiling back.

"How'd… I thought…"

Ash chuckled nervously. "I practically threw myself into the alleyway and landed in a pile of garbage and trashcans." He looked up at everyone. "He still got the side of my shirt though…"

Jazz walked up and looked to see in fact that Ash had no wound where his shirt was burned.

"Well that's a relief," Jace sighed.

Maddie looked around and started to shoo people away. She would've done that before the fight since people needed to learn to not crowd these happenings, but she'd been too busy coming to Dani's aid.

Ash smiled sheepishly up at Jack. "Could I use your shower, Mr. Fenton? I don't think my mom would be happy to se me walk into the house with a burnt shirt. She'd freak."

Jack grinned and slapped the back of Ash's shoulder blades, making the boy wheeze. "Of course! Anyone that can fight a ghost is welcome in our home."

"Thank you, Mr. Fenton," Jace smiled. He looked at Ash. "You're lucky I also have a spare of one of your shirts."

Ash narrowed his eyes at his long time friend. "Why the heck do you have one of my shirts?"

Jace tried not to grin. "No reason… and if there had been some less than pleasant plot I had had planned, you'll die never knowing what it might have been."

"You scare me sometimes."

"Good, that's the desired effect."

Dani only laughed and then hugged Ash tightly, making the boy make a surprised noise.

Maddie and Jack paused and gave each other a knowing look. Jazz locked eyes with Jace and they both gave each other a _oh boy_ look.

"Don't scare me like that again."

Ash gulped and then hesitantly returned the hug. "Okay, but no promises."

-smack-

"Ow." Ash muttered after Dani had slapped the back of his head.

"No promises makes the Okay not mean anything!" Dani huffed.

"You mean it nullifies the meaning behind the first response," Jace inserted.

"That's what I said," Dani spoke and blinked.

Jace sighed. "Never mind."

Ash smiled and looked at Maddie and Jack. "Maybe if I knew some cool moves…"

Jace face-palmed.

Maddie smiled brightly now that she and her husband had removed their hoods. "Well I could say that you and your friend Jace wanted to learn karate from me. I teach Dani, Jazz, Danny, and now Tucker and Sam often. Valerie already is a ninth degree black belt."

Ash grinned. "Yes please!"

Dani sighed. "Are you sure you want to do this? Once you're in… the ghosts make sure you are never out. You'll be targeted."

Ash frowned and then looked at Jace. A silent message passed between the two boys.

Ash had been a little afraid when he'd found out his newest friend was part ghost and actually involved with fighting other ghosts. At first he wasn't sure if the Phantoms were evil or not. His parents had always been in the middle about the whole thing, happy if Phantom could keep evil at bay, but ready at the drop of a hat to let someone destroy Phantom if he went bad. When Dani Phantom had appeared and flew around happily with her _cousin_, Ash had started to think that ghosts were more complicated than how people saw them. And now, after still talking and hanging out with Dani as well as seeing first hand what happened during one of the fights, he knew his answer.

Jace had been wary to say the least. Unlike Ash though, he'd always had the question in the back of his mind that asked what about being dead made something or someone evil? So he'd used his observational skills from the start, seeing that Phantom was capable of great strength and acts of good. If he'd been truly evil, then he would've done much worse in his boughts of wrong-doing. Finding out Dani was indeed a Phantom too, was a shock, but Jace was one to watch after his friends. It had always been his role to watch after others, mostly his three younger brothers of ten, seven, and three years of age. He'd guarded Ash for as long as they'd known each other and Dani was going to get the same treatment. He knew his answer.

"We're sure." They answered simultaneously.

zzz

**Ozarks. 12:04 PM.**

"Look. Aren't they beautiful?"

Danny carefully stepped over a branch on the path they were walking on before looking up at his girlfriend's voice. Everyone had stopped walking to watch the group of three doe graze and stare at them. Eventually the largest one started to move away and the other two followed.

"The white-tailed deer. There is one other species in Arkansas that belong to the Cervids grouping, but it's unlikely we'll see it," Lancer spoke up.

"Hmmm venison," Tucker murmured before Valerie sighed at him. Sam was giving him a death glare.

"They're such beautiful creatures. Is meat and eating things _all_ you can think about?" Sam grumbled.

Tucker shrugged. "I've been hiking for a few hours now and well I'm hungry. I'm also a meat connoisseur, if you haven't forgotten."

Sam just rolled her eyes. Before something else caught her eye. "Oh look a Fox Squirrel."

Everyone in the group turned and saw the rodent dashing to a branch before leaping and grabbing onto another.

Melanie smiled and looked at Sam. "You know a lot about animals, Sam."

Sam smiled back. "Of course. I don't eat anything with a face on it for a reason."

"Oh, I just thought you were afraid to get fat," Paulina announced from behind, causing her girlfriends to snicker.

Danny grumbled under his breath before he smiled and have turned. "At least she eats healthily, Paulina."

Paulina gave Danny and glare and the two were stuck like that for a few seconds before Dash growled. Sam glared at the larger boy in turn.

"Enough," Lancer spoke up.

"Yeah, I know everyone's stir crazy and tired from hiking but we've just got one hill to go over before we reach our first day's camping site. Come on, maggots!" Tetslaff shouted as everyone groaned.

If it hadn't been obvious before, it was now. A semi-noticeable gap formed between Danny, his friends, Brandon's friends, and Melanie, and the A-listers. TJ, Brad, Stan, John, Freddie, and Richard kept mostly to their own group. They started talking about baseball when Brad initiated the discussion.

After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence, Tetslaff led them off the trail slightly when they spotted a large meadow. She turned to face the students.

"Okay, this is what I want to see. Fix up some lunch for yourselves if you're hungry enough, then set up your tents and gear for the night. Once that's done, I'm going to give you all a lesson in starting a campfire, with and without a ready source of fire. Understood?"

Everyone nodded at their teachers before walking out into the meadow to choose their spots. Once Danny, Tucker, Valerie, and Sam had decided theirs, they sat down next to their packs to rest and eat first. Sam started pulling out the ingredients to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"Jam? That doesn't need a fridge?" Tucker asked as Sam passed him his sandwich.

"Certain kinds, no. If the preserves have enough sugar in them then the water that normally helps lets things spoil is trapped," Sam answered after passing one to Danny.

Once she had made one for Valerie and herself, she pulled out two apples and cut them in half. Each one got a half. That sat and ate in comfortable silence, even when Tucker pulled out some jerky, stating he had to have _some_ meat even if he couldn't have as much as normal. He shared some with Danny when he asked for some.

They glanced around to see some people eating and others finished with whatever they had had and working on getting their tents up. They eventually started getting their own tents up without much issue except for Tucker getting wrapped up in his own, once, which prompted a few laughs from his friends. Once they were done with their own tents, they walked over to help Brandon and some of the nerds fix theirs up, to keep Dash and his goonies from laughing at them.

It was during this time that Danny noticed Dash of all people, having trouble with his own tent. He wasn't too sure where the poles went and connected.

Danny closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. He was starting to wonder if he liked to torture himself. He walked over and addressed Dash.

"Dash, do you need some help?"

Dash stopped and looked up to see Danny looking at him it what? slight concern? He scowled.

"I'm just fine, Fentonio! You must be pretty good at this since your hick cousin was from here before your family adopted her!" Dash growled out.

Danny growled angrily and turned on his heel. He marched back towards his friends muttering under his breath. "Bardus stultus. Quare et contumax esse crudelis? Si quis habuit idea! Ego iustus volo ad auxilium." (Stupid fool. Why does he have to be so stubborn and cruel? If he had any idea! I just wanted to help.)

Sam frowned when she heard Danny talking in Latin while angry. He probably wasn't even aware he'd slipped into a different language. "Danny shush. I know he's an idiot, but you can't talk in Latin any more. Not here."

Danny perked up and snapped out of his mutterings. "I was…"

"Yeah."

"Oh, oops. He just said some stupid comment about Dani being from here."

"I understand," Sam replied.

"So now what? Tucker asked and leaned back against a large rock that was near their four tents which had been linked together as they'd planned a month before.

"We wait until everyone's done and then Tetslaff will be teaching us about starting a fire," Valerie returned with an amused smile. Danny only chuckled as a extremely tiny orange ember flickered into existence on his index finger.

"I could always start a fire," Danny smirked.

Sam laughed. "You sound like a pyro, Danny."

Danny blew out the tiny flame and laid down. "I wonder if we could find a good place to fish. I brought the Fenton Ghost Fisher. It can catch ghosts, but it's still a working fishing pole."

Tucker laughed in amusement. "Ha! Never thought of that. Fish... meat..."

"Students!"

Everyone turned to see Lancer and Tetslaff near the center of the ring of students and their tents. The teachers had also set up their own.

"Okay, first we've got to build the structure to hold a fire safety."

Everyone looked down and saw that this part of the meadow was a bit rockier.

"We need to clear away as much of the foliage as possible. Then dig a bit and make a barrier around the hole with dirt or stones," Brandon offered.

Tetslaff looked in surprise at Brandon. "Excellent work Mr. Masterson."

Tucker nudged Brandon to congratulate him and soon Brandon was feeling pride rush through him since his friends were happy for him.

"I used to be a Squirrel Scout for the Amity Park division," Brandon added.

Tetslaff nodded, "Excellent. Now I need some strong abled bodied persons to go gather wood while the rest of us build the pit."

Danny, Dash, Valerie, and Freddie were the ones sent out to get fire wood. It wasn't must longer that they came back; Dash saw Danny and Valerie carrying a couple piles a bit bigger than his and Freddie's and scowled.

The fire was built and put up and everyone stepped back as Tetslaff went through the steps of starting the fire without a source. She showed them a couple methods, including the use of steel wool and a battery as well as bending light into a fine point. After the demonstration was over, she took a flint stone and told them it's usually just better to make sure you had a flint whenever you went somewhere.

It didn't take long for the fire to start burning and warming them. It was getting late in the afternoon by now and Lancer told them that they could explore, so long as they came back to base before sundown.

"There are two easy things to identify that I wanted you guys to taste," Sam spoke as they walked into the woods. Melanie had over heard what Sam was saying and wanted to see for herself. Being in the outdoors had made the other girl curious to learn more about it.

"Ugh, plants," Tucker murmured.

"Some mushrooms can taste like meat sometimes you know," Valerie supplied.

"Really?"

Danny chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"So you have a greenhouse and grow a lot of the food you take to lunch at school?" Melanie asked Sam.

"Yeah, some of it isn't edible though. I have considered adding these to my garden, but they're fairly common anyways," Sam replied. She stopped and smiled. "Here we go." Everyone watched as she bent down and started to pick some mushrooms off of a fallen log. "These are Oyster mushrooms, see the gill-like stalks and how they look like oysters?"

Sam rose again as she directed everyone to follow again. They paused when Danny stopped walking. In front of them were several weeds and ferns that made up the undergrowth. His eyes focused on some Dandelions.

"Hey Sam?"

"Yeah Danny?"

"Were you heading towards the dandelions? They're edible, right?" Danny asked and rubbed the back of his neck.

Sam beamed. "You were listening! Yes that's the other thing I was going to show you all."

Danny kneeled and plucked some of the plant before they all started walking back towards the meadow. A light orange tinge was starting to color and world as the sun started it's descent. As soon as they got back to camp, Lancer noticed the foliage in their hands and approached.

"Oyster Mushrooms and Dandelions, sir," Sam spoke.

Lancer focused on the plant and fungus before nodding and smiling. "Very good Mrs. Manson. I think that's worth at least two points each."

Sam shook her head. "I identified the mushroom Mr. Lancer, not the fact that Dandelion is edible."

Lancer rose his brows when Sam glanced at Danny.

"But Sam you were going to do the same thing."

"And you beat me to it."

Lancer nodded and spoke. "Two points each then. two for Manson and two for Fenton."

Lancer then walked off as they walked over to the fire. After some work and learning that Danny as well as Jazz could actually cook fairly well since his parents weren't gifted in that area, the small group was enjoying a small bit of cornbread, chili, for anyone but Sam, and the mix of oyster mushrooms and dandelions that had been grilled.

It wasn't much longer after that that night fell and everyone was gathered around the fire. Danny had a bit of left over fire wood and was hacking at it with his pocket knife he'd brought. He cut himself once during the activity, though no one noticed the cut heal within a couple minutes. Sam kept asking him what he was trying to carve, but he wouldn't say. He knew he'd never actually tried to make sculptures without use of his cytokinesis before, but wasn't it just a matter of making his hands do what his mind could? When he made his ice sculptures, they didn't just immediately form from the thoughts in his mind. He had to carve them, take and add things to them as separate steps and actions mentally. Now in this case he just had to do the same with his hands and remember that he couldn't _add_ to the wood like he could ice.

"Fenton, I didn't know you could carve wood," Brad spoke up when he noticed Danny carefully witting at the wood, now.

Danny looked up and smiled a bit. "I've done some other… uh… sculpting before, but I wanted to see if I could work with wood since there's a lot of it here. It probably won't turn out too well."

Lancer narrowed his eyes at the way Daniel got slightly evasive when talking about sculpting. Why wouldn't anyone want others to know about their artistic gifts?

"What are you making?" Norman asked.

The A-listers had stopped gossiping for a time and watched the losers, nerds, and neutrals… talking peacefully together, even if the neutrals weren't sitting close to the others like the losers and nerds were.

"Uh well… I was wanting to make a doe. I'm worried about making thin legs though so maybe I'll connect the legs to some foliage or something to make it sturdier," Danny replied as Sam's eyes lit up.

"Oh you got inspiration from seeing those white-tails didn't you?" Melanie offered.

"Yeah. I guess you could say they embody part of the spirit of this place," Danny replied and then smirked.

"I wanna see it when it's done, okay Danny?" Stan asked.

"Yeah, same here."

"Me too."

Danny looked around at the people talking and shrugged sheepishly. "If you like, but I'm telling you it's not going to be much of anything. I've never used wood before. I might even scrap this attempt before long if I doesn't look right."

Everyone asking seemed fine with that. The A-listers started whispering amongst themselves. Soon after that, everyone started to slip away into their tents to get some sleep. Lancer was the last to go into his own tent, since he wanted to make sure no one was left outside in the night.

It was several minutes later and Lancer knew he had something on his mind that wouldn't let him sleep yet.

He'd never known of Daniel to show any kind of artistic ability or preference before. If he had, he'd never shown it. He knew Samantha was semi-gifted with drawing, just from the glimpses of doodles he'd seen on her notes before, but Daniel hadn't ever seemed to stay at school long enough to show anything like knack for the fine arts before.

Another small memory entered his mind. He remembered seeing Samantha walking around school with a necklace made of some kind of crystal. He'd even over heard from some students that were more in the know, that Daniel had made the piece on his own. It was rumored to be made of ghost ice, which couldn't melt by normal means.

Suddenly a strange collection of thoughts started to come into Lancer's mind. He was suspicious of Daniel and his friends hunting ghosts, Daniel had supposedly made a necklace from ghost ice, Daniel seemed to like sculpting…

Lancer's eyes widened. "Could TheEidolon's sculptures be made of ghost ice?" Lancer went over in his head how Daniel could possibly have learned to carve with the ice that seemed as hard as diamonds. Just short of trapping the ghost and forcing it to make things for Daniel, which seemed to not be within the gentle Fenton's personality do to something even remotely that cruel, he would have to have access to something that could melt the substance. His parents were ghost hunters so they had to have something that could do the job. Daniel may even have friends that were ghosts, given how his friends supported the Phantoms so much…

Lancer quieted his mind and listened to the crickets and small frogs singing in the night air. Though Daniel and his friends were still an enigma…

Had Lancer just figured out that the identity of TheEidolon, was in fact, Danny Fenton?

zzz

**Amity Park. Vlad's Mansion. 9:55 PM.**

The mansion was quiet and empty. No movement or life wandered the halls. Down in the secret lab of the mansion's walls, the doors to the Ghost Zone portal remained closed, tight.

Even so, a dark purple almost black amorphous shaped being slipped right through the closed door as easy as the Box Ghost. It soundlessly floated through the several hidden rooms that made up the lab, until it's non-eyes noticed the dome housing the Crown of Fire.

It floated over to the dome and reached out to touch it, before receiving a nasty shock. The being didn't cry out in pain however. It simply slipped into the floor and crawled through the tiniest of shadows on the dome and it's support. Now partially within the dome, it snatched the crown and placed it on it's head.

The being's one semi-formed arm, which housed the Ring of Rage, was joined by his right arm becoming more formed and solid, his chest and body all became more humanoid, even if he remained small and almost young in appearance.

It slipped away through the shadows again and hissed once it was safe to look at itself in a nearby mirror.

"I… I imprinted after _him_?" The being growled in frustration before it noticed it was melting some, after talking and manifesting it's anger. "I must be patient still… I need a body… a true body… then I can use it to grow a more solid and sturdy form. Then Humanity shall fall to Malus."

Malus let out a cut off dark chuckle before turning and flying back through the portal and into the Zone.

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><p><strong>So did you all like it? I hope so. Oh and by the way if you were curious about Technus' new form, look up Technus on the Danny Phantom Wikia. If the show hadn't been canceled, they had planned for Technus to upgrade in Flirting with Disaster. Take a look at the concept sketches at the bottom. That's Technus 3.0. :) I don't think I've seen anyone use him (at least in the stories, I've read).<strong>

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><p><span><strong>Answers to Questions:<strong>

**Savirox: Also I was wondering... Do you actually know latin or do you just use a traductor or something ?**

**Nosignal: I do not know Latin. I use Google Translate. I know many people know this method to be flawed, but I focus more on the atmosphere even _imitating_ Latin brings, even if it's done incorrectly. I try to make sure it's semi accurate, but Latin is particularly tricky.**

**NoSignal to Starlin's Ghost: I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this chapter as much. It was intended to be a bit filler-like and mostly fun and goofy. Yes there is kinda an itinerary that isn't expressly mentioned. Lancer didn't know Danny had even gone to the bathroom, Danny had walked back with Valerie, Sam, and Tucker after transforming back to Fenton. The Mansion is eh, semi-famous in real life. You're right though, there probably is no logical reason (at least mentioned in the chapter) that would explain why Dash and Tyson knew about the mansion. I'll try to keep some of these inconsistencies in mind, though I also want to focus on constructing the overall feel of the story. I'll even try to at least make the field trip as interesting as I can sense I sensed that you are semi-turned off by the plot-line of field trips being used to reveal his secret to his classmates.**

**I'll try to keep the things you said in mind. Thanks again though for another long and helpful review.**

**Coin: Perhaps you could put more focus into Sam and Tucker acknowledging how much he goes through and how they appreciate him? That's something they hardly touched on in the show.**

**NoSignal: I like that idea. I think I'll try to push it a bit later in the Field Trip. :) Glad you're enjoying it enough. Sorry if the fluff is annoying. I try to not make those main focuses in any of my stories. Thanks for your review!**

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><p><strong>Thanks Everyone for your reviews and kind words! You have no idea how much they help. Any support at all makes writing easier. Of course I make it my mission for it to never have an effect on how long it takes for me to get a chapter posted.<strong>

**Anyways, thanks! Until next time,**

**~NoSignal**


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